Report: CSB Chair Likely to Stay Put Under Trump

The often-tumultuous transition from the Obama White House to the Trump administration appears likely to spare the head of the agency responsible for investigating chemical accidents.

Bloomberg reports that Vanessa Sutherland is likely to remain as chairwoman of the Chemical Safety Board under Trump.

The CSB chair, along with the other four members of the board, is appointed by the president to a five-year term subject to Senate confirmation, and the president cannot remove a member for any reason except poor performance.

Previous chairs have stepped aside to accommodate a presidential transition, but analysts told Bloomberg that the chemical sector isn't clamoring for a change.

Obama nominated Sutherland in 2015 to succeed Rafael Moure-Eraso, whose tenure as CSB chairman was marked by declining employee performance and morale, allegations of improper treatment of whistleblowers and reports of federal records law violations.

One industry official told the publication that an effort to oust Sutherland would effectively “rock the boat that doesn’t need rocking."

Trump's first term will be nearly over by the time her term expires in August 2020, but his nominees to succeed other expiring board members could establish a more industry-friendly board ahead of time.

Bloomberg also reported that the CSB hired Tom Zoeller in an advisory role prior to Trump's executive order freezing federal hiring. He is expected to serve in an advisory role previously held by Daniel Horowitz, a top Moure-Eraso aide who was placed on administrative leave in 2015.