The White House's two advisory councils of top business executives disbanded on Wednesday amid intense public blowback against President Donald Trump's response to the deadly attack by an accused white supremacist in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The move came two days after executives began resigning from the dwindling American Manufacturing Council and hours after the billionaire financier who headed the separate Strategic and Policy Forum hosted a call with the 15 members of that panel.
Trump took credit on Twitter for dissolving the councils in order to alleviate pressure on the executives.
The tone of Trump's announcement was a sharp departure from his previous, combative statements lashing out at the executives who had resigned in protest of his refusal to quickly and pointedly condemn white supremacists.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.