President Biden’s top science advisor resigned Monday night following reports that he bullied subordinates.
Dr. Eric Lander had served as the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
An investigation found credible evidence that Lander had disparaged other staffers. Multiple women reported having negative interactions with him.
In a first for any American president, Biden made OSTP director a cabinet position in June. The move potentially gave Lander more influence than any science advisor in U.S. history.
The decision signaled the importance of the position in the middle of a pandemic.
Biden announced during the campaign that he wouldn’t tolerate such behavior in his administration. However, the president long resisted calls to fire Lander. Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House would do a better job managing Lander’s behavior.
Eventually, they realized the situation was untenable.
Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey adds:
Could the White House have possibly screwed this up more? They had a golden opportunity to make some political hay by sticking to their pledge and kicking Lander out on their own terms. Instead, Biden and Psaki weirdly circled the wagons around Lander, apparently without bothering to check whether he could even continue one more day in the job. The White House had to back down and get rid of Lander anyway, only now they’ve made it look as though they got forced into it and caved under political pressure.
Who’s bright idea was that? Because whoever came up with that strategy should follow Lander out the door. I’d bet it’s the same person who got the bright idea to rehabilitate the man who should have been the first Cabinet sacking:
Morrissey is referring to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. Becerra is facing growing criticism for ceding his authority to others.
Team Biden’s COVID-19 response has been a total disaster, and yet the White House still wants to stick with the lawyer it appointed to run it. Lander has to be glad, at least in some small part, to be out of the bizarro-world Biden administration.
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