CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) – Former Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has resigned from a leadership position with a federal agency, saying the job was a waste of taxpayer money.

In September, Kinder was sworn in as alternative federal co-chairman to the Delta Regional Authority, following an appointment from President Donald Trump. Kinder resigned this month.

Kinder said in a statement to the Southeast Missourian newspaper in Cape Girardeau that upon taking office in September he found a “bloated administrative budget” at the DRA. At his request, staff found $400,000 in cuts that the board approved.

Kinder, a Republican, was elected lieutenant governor in 2008 and re-elected in 2012. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2016. He says he plans to enter the private sector and has no plans to seek public office again.