Alex Acosta resigns as labor secretary after Epstein plea-deal backlash

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced his resignation after renewed scrutiny of the 2007 federal non-prosecution agreement he approved as U.S. attorney in South Florida. The agreement let Jeffrey Epstein avoid federal prosecution at the time and returned public attention to survivor notice, prosecutorial discretion, and how powerful defendants can receive unusually favorable terms. The resignation followed Epstein's 2019 federal arrest in New York and made the earlier Florida deal a national accountability issue inside the Trump administration.