Third Trump council falls after Charlottesville controversy

Another business council in the White House has been scrapped just days after last week’s Charlottesville violence, following widespread criticism of Donald Trump’s response to the incident.

The presidential advisory council on infrastructure is the latest panel to be thrown on the scrapheap, after the manufacturing and the strategy and policy forums were stood down following a raft of resignations.

Several CEOs who formed part of the various councils stepped away from their roles after several comments from Trump which placed the white supremacist groups involved in the disturbances in the same category as those protesting their demonstrations.

A 32-year-old woman was killed when a car ploughed its way through a group of protesters last Saturday in the Virginia town, sparking a wave of condemnation of the neo-Nazi groups.

The White House confirmed on Thursday that the infrastructure council would be stood down.

"The President has announced the end of the manufacturing council and the strategy and policy forum. In addition, the president’s advisory council on infrastructure, which was still being formed, will not move forward," a statement said.

The forum was only formally established in July, but New York property developers Richard LeFrak and Steven Roth had reportedly been earmarked to lead the panel since before Trump’s inauguration.