President Joe Biden's science advisor Dr. Eric Lander tendered his resignation on Monday evening. "I am writing to submit my resi...
President Joe Biden's science advisor Dr. Eric Lander tendered his resignation on Monday evening.
"I am writing to submit my resignation, to be effective no later than February 18 in order to permit an orderly transfer. I am devastated that I caused hurt to past and present colleagues by the way in which I have spoken to them," Lander wrote.
"I have sought to push myself and my colleagues to reach our shared goals — including at times challenging and criticizing," he noted. "But it is clear that things I said, and the way I said them, crossed the line at times into being disrespectful and demeaning, to both men and women. That was never my intention."
Lander serves the president's science advisor and the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
An investigation had found evidence indicating that Lander had been disrespectful to others, according to Politico.
"I am deeply sorry for my conduct. I especially want to apologize to those of you who I treated poorly or were present at the time," Lander said in an email to OSTP staff on Friday, according to the outlet. "It's my responsibility to set a respectful tone for our community. It's clear that I have not lived up to this responsibility. I have spoken to colleagues within OSTP in a disrespectful or demeaning way."
Lander's resignation is also notable since he is a member of the Cabinet.
"The President accepted Dr. Eric Lander’s resignation letter this evening with gratitude for his work at OSTP on the pandemic, the cancer moonshot, climate change, and other key priorities," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement, according to reports.
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