TORONTO -- In what is surely the most tumultuous week of Donald Trump's waning four-year term as president, a growing list of his administration officials, including cabinet ministers, advisers and White House aides are abandoning ship in the wake of the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol building.

Speculation is rampant about who will be next to jump overboard and who has considered it.

The resignations are being met with a healthy dose of skepticism for those accused of enabling a president who has sowed dissent, hatred and distrust in the electoral system.

"Nobody is fooled by these last-second, come-to-Jesus conversions," said Rick Wilson, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of Republicans fiercely critical of Trump.

The departures include Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, among a list of at least 11 officials who've announced their departures with less than two weeks to go before the inauguration of president-elect Joe Biden.

Many in Trump's circle have stood by as Trump has literally and figuratively embraced authoritarians, coarsely belittled political adversaries on Twitter and unleashed a litany of falsehoods to back up his chosen narratives.

But Trump's behaviour Wednesday -- first by exhorting his supporters to march on Congress to demand election results be tossed and later declining to condemn the day's violence -- was a line too far, said several high-profile officials serving the president.

It wasn't until Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after the Capitol siege, that Trump in a video message condemned the actions of the rioters as "heinous" and acknowledged his election loss after weeks of falsely claiming election fraud would lead to the vote being overturned.

Republicans and Democrats alike urged those still on the payroll to remain on the job to aid in a transfer of power and to do their best to keep Trump in check. There are also calls among powerful Democrats and some Republicans to oust him from the White House either through impeachment or by invoking the 25th Amendment that would declare Trump incapable of doing his job and put Vice-President Mike Pence in charge until Jan. 20.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, among the staunchest Trump supporters to bail on the president's ploy to remain in power, pleaded for those in the national security apparatus to stay in their positions.

"We need you now more than ever," Graham said.

"To those who believe you should leave your post now to make a statement, I would urge you not."

Here's a list of those who have submitted their resignations so far.

Betsy DeVos

In her resignation letter, DeVos said Trump's role in Wednesday's "unconscionable" riot that killed five, including a Capitol Police officer, was her breaking point.

"There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is an inflection point for me."

During Wednesday's violence, DeVos tweeted that the work of Congress to certify the election was its constitutional duty.

"An angry mob cannot be allowed to attack our Capitol and impede this process. The disruptions and violence must end, the law must be upheld, and the work of the people must go on."

Elaine Chao

The first cabinet member to announce her resignation, Chao had been a member of the Trump team since day one. Chao, who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, called the riot "traumatic and entirely avoidable" and linked it to Trump's rally earlier in the day.

"As I'm sure is the case with many of you, it has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside," she wrote.

Stephanie Grisham

Chief of staff to First Lady Melania Trump, Grisham was the first White House official to resign in the wake of the storming of the Capitol. Grisham had previously served as Trump's third White House press secretary, giving up that post in April.

Matthew Pottinger

The White House deputy national security adviser resigned Wednesday. A former reporter and U.S. Marine, Pottinger served since Trump took office and was considered a key architect of the president's policy on China.

Mick Mulvaney

The former White House chief of staff resigned as special envoy to Northern Ireland Thursday, while speculating that some would join him while others were wrestling with worries that replacements might not be effective in keeping Trump from taking further, destructive action.

Elinore McCance-Katz

The assistant secretary for mental health and substance use in the Department of Health and Human Services is believed to be the latest departure. She announced her resignation in a statement issued late Thursday.

She said she had planned to stay on through a transition to a new administration but her "plans abruptly changed" after the storming of the Capitol building.

"I cannot support language that results in incitement of violence and risks our very existence," she wrote.

"I very much hope that we will all take a step back and work through this painful time together — listening to each other, respecting each other, and bringing us together again as the great nation we are."

Other departures

CNN is reporting that Anthony Ruggiero, senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense at the National Security Council, resigned on Thursday. Ruggiero leads the council's North Korea policy and is a key East Asia expert.

Ryan Tully, the senior director for European and Russian affairs at the National Security Council, Rickie Niceta, White House social secretary, deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews, and John Costello, deputy assistant secretary in the Commerce Department, round out the resignations so far.

Costello pulled no punches in a tweet announcing he was quitting, saying Trump's actions "leave me no choice."

"Yesterday's events were an unprecedented attack on the very core of our democracy – incited by a sitting president."

Wednesday's siege of the Capitol also triggered a wave of resignations of law enforcement officials, including Steven Sund, the chief of the Capitol Police, House sergeant-at-arms Paul Irving, and Senate sergeant-at-arms Michael Stenger.

With files from the Associated Press