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Everything old is new again. From 1985: government officials resigning.
Rowland Quits as OSHA Chief
By Peter Perl May 25, 1985
Robert A. Rowland, the embattled head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, resigned yesterday, saying he is "proud of my record" but "weary" of persistent criticism about his financial holdings and his approach to such job-safety issues as field sanitation for farm workers. ... Rowland's resignation, effective July 1, came on the same day that the Office of Government Ethics concluded that he had not violated federal conflict-of-interest laws by participating in OSHA decisions that potentially affected chemical, pharmaceutical, petroleum and other corporations in which he owns more than $1 million in stock. ... Rowland, who received a presidential recess appointment last June and had never been confirmed by the Senate, is the latest of a half-dozen administration officials to leave office amid controversy recently. No replacement was named for him.
....
A millionaire Texas lawyer and prominent Republican fund-raiser, Rowland, 53, said in an interview that he is leaving because of a combination of "homesickness," distaste for the criticism and the desire to start up a new business "and get in a little hunting and fishing" on his south Texas ranch.
....
Yesterday's report by the ethics office concluded a "review" requested by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Calif.). Rowland had participated in decisions not to enact tighter rules for formaldehyde, benzene, and ethylene oxide while he had financial interests in firms including Tenneco, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and Monsanto, which use such products. ... Office of Government Ethics Director David H. Martin told Hawkins in a letter yesterday that Rowland acted within the law under the terms of a conflict-of-interest "waiver" granted by Donovan last September. The waiver permitted Rowland to participate in broad policy-making OSHA decisions such as rule making, as long as he disqualified himself from matters such as compliance actions, investigations, or citations against those specific companies.
Rowland is at least the fifth administration official to resign under fire in the past three months. Donovan resigned after failing to overturn his indictment. Office of Personnel Management Director Donald J. Devine took a temporary OPM position after his term expired; he then resigned but now awaits a possible second term as OPM head. ... Eileen Marie Gardner, an Education Department aide, resigned under fire for her writings about the handicapped. Another new Education Department appointee, Lawrence A. Uzzell, resigned after protests about his remarks that all federal programs for elementary and secondary education should be abolished. Marianne Mele Hall, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal chairman, resigned after publicity over her role in a book considered derogatory to blacks.
By Peter Perl May 25, 1985
Robert A. Rowland, the embattled head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, resigned yesterday, saying he is "proud of my record" but "weary" of persistent criticism about his financial holdings and his approach to such job-safety issues as field sanitation for farm workers. ... Rowland's resignation, effective July 1, came on the same day that the Office of Government Ethics concluded that he had not violated federal conflict-of-interest laws by participating in OSHA decisions that potentially affected chemical, pharmaceutical, petroleum and other corporations in which he owns more than $1 million in stock. ... Rowland, who received a presidential recess appointment last June and had never been confirmed by the Senate, is the latest of a half-dozen administration officials to leave office amid controversy recently. No replacement was named for him.
....
A millionaire Texas lawyer and prominent Republican fund-raiser, Rowland, 53, said in an interview that he is leaving because of a combination of "homesickness," distaste for the criticism and the desire to start up a new business "and get in a little hunting and fishing" on his south Texas ranch.
....
Yesterday's report by the ethics office concluded a "review" requested by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Augustus F. Hawkins (D-Calif.). Rowland had participated in decisions not to enact tighter rules for formaldehyde, benzene, and ethylene oxide while he had financial interests in firms including Tenneco, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and Monsanto, which use such products. ... Office of Government Ethics Director David H. Martin told Hawkins in a letter yesterday that Rowland acted within the law under the terms of a conflict-of-interest "waiver" granted by Donovan last September. The waiver permitted Rowland to participate in broad policy-making OSHA decisions such as rule making, as long as he disqualified himself from matters such as compliance actions, investigations, or citations against those specific companies.
Rowland is at least the fifth administration official to resign under fire in the past three months. Donovan resigned after failing to overturn his indictment. Office of Personnel Management Director Donald J. Devine took a temporary OPM position after his term expired; he then resigned but now awaits a possible second term as OPM head. ... Eileen Marie Gardner, an Education Department aide, resigned under fire for her writings about the handicapped. Another new Education Department appointee, Lawrence A. Uzzell, resigned after protests about his remarks that all federal programs for elementary and secondary education should be abolished. Marianne Mele Hall, the Copyright Royalty Tribunal chairman, resigned after publicity over her role in a book considered derogatory to blacks.