Almost 300 members of the Yale class of 1985 have signed a letter asking their former classmate, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to resign. 

The letter was a response to President Trump’s comments about the violent events in Charlottesville, Virgina. It claimed that Trump was sympathetic to white supremacist groups and called on Mnuchin to resign in protest.

“Supporting white supremacists and neo-Nazis is not something that anyone should be able to agree with,” said Thomas Mugavero, one of the signatories. “We thought it reflected badly on Mr. Mnuchin. We thought it reflected badly on Yale. And we thought it reflected badly on pretty much the country.”

Mugavero said that he hopes the letter will inspire Mnuchin to step down, and that others would follow his example.

This report comes from the New England News Collaborative, eight public media companies coming together to tell the story of a changing region, with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.