Whitman Resigns As Head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Whitman's tenure at EPA found her frequently caught between environmentalists and an administration perceived as pro-business on environmental issues. Her departure announcement, which follows that of White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, by just a few days, comes as Bush administration officials weigh options as the president's 2004 reelection campaign kicks off. "This is not really a surprise," says one environmental professional group official in Washington. "She was rated as one of most ineffective in terms of having influence in the administration."