House lawmakers say President Obama is asking the embattled chairman of the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) to step down.
Rafael Moure-Eraso’s departure from the agency would come after months of pressure from Congress, where members of both parties have accused him of breaking the law, being an ineffective and hostile leader and retaliating against whistleblowers.
{mosads}Spokesmen for Obama and Moure-Eraso did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday night. But CNN confirmed the news, citing congressional sources.
Leaders of the House Oversight Committee, who have been calling for Moure-Eraso to resign since at least June, welcomed the news.
“The Chemical Safety Board is in desperate need of new leadership and we are pleased that the president has recognized the importance of making key changes within the Chemical Safety Board,” the panel’s leaders, Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), said in a joint statement.
“Dr. Moure-Eraso’s mismanagement of the CSB, abuse of power, employee retaliation, and lack of honesty in his communications with Congress are among the many reasons why his resignation is the right next step for this federal agency,” they said.
In recent weeks, top Republicans in the Senate and 14 members of the House Oversight Committee from both parties have asked for Moure-Eraso’s removal. The House lawmakers went so far as to ask Obama to fire him.
The calls for his resignation came after a trio of Oversight Committee hearings gave attention to allegations that he had retaliated against whistleblowers, illegally used private email accounts for official work, lied to Congress and created a hostile workplace that is now ranked as one of the worst places to work in the government.
Moure-Eraso has admitted to some fault, but has refused to step down and blamed colleagues for some of the CSB’s problems.
Moure-Eraso’s term at CSB expires in June, and Obama has nominated Vanessa Sutherland, an attorney at the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration, to replace him.