Top Republican resigns after calling east St Louis the ‘s***hole of the universe’

The Illinois Republican's departure was confirmed by Gov Bruce Rauner's office

Mr Garber's Facebook profile photo (Facebook)

A top Republican in Illinois has resigned from his office after modelling his language after the president of the United States.

Blair Garber, the now-former chairman of the Illinois Lottery Control, got himself into deep waters after he attacked Sen Dick Durbin and his home town in southeastern Illinois.

“Durbin’s home town is (get this) east St. Louis Illinois! The s***hole of the universe! Just do a google search,” Mr Garber tweeted last month.

Mr Garber was responding to a tweet from country music singer Charlie Daniels, who had taken to Twitter to defend President Donald Trump, who reportedly referred to Haiti and African nations as “s***hole countries” during a meeting with members of Congress. Those comments drew widespread criticism of Mr Trump, including from Mr Durbin, a senior Democrat.

“Mr Durbin, I’m so sorry that your virgin ears were blistered by the absolutely horrible language President Trump used in front of you,” Daniels tweeted last month. “The President actually thought he was addressing a meeting of members of Congress, not a kindergarten class, hope you didn’t wet your pants, too.”

A spokeswoman for Illinois Gov Bruce Rauner, a Republican, confirmed that Mr Garber had stepped down from his post.

“Mr Garber has apologised for his comments and is resigning from the Illinois Lottery Control Board effective immediately,” Rachel Bold, the spokeswoman, told the State-Journal Register in Springfield.

Mr Trump’s “s***hole countries” comment reportedly occurred during a meeting in the Oval Office with members of Congress as they attempted to strike a deal on immigration issues.

The President has denied making those specific comments, but recognised that he used harsh language during the meeting.