President Obama plans to call on the head of the Chemical Safety Board to step down amid increasing congressional scrutiny over mismanagement and personnel trouble at the safety agency, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision.
An aide for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has held multiple hearings on CSB management, told National Journal that the White House had notified them of plans to call for the resignation of Rafael Moure-Eraso from the Chemical Safety Board.
The White House and the CSB did not respond to requests for comment.
Moure-Eraso has just about three months left in his five-year term as chairman of the CSB, the independent agency tasked with investigating chemical accidents and issuing recommendations to prevent them. His term has been marked by turmoil and charges that he has created a toxic environment for employees at the agency, and several members of Congress recently called for his ouster.
In a joint statement, Oversight Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said they were "pleased that the president has recognized the importance of making key changes with the Chemical Safety Board."