Top White House scientist resigns after review finds he demeaned staff

^{"Keynote speaker Eric Lander 1" by afagen 
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0}

Eric Lander, President Biden’s top science adviser, resigned Monday night after he acknowledged mistreating his subordinates and apologized for demeaning them, a pattern of behavior that put him at odds with one of Biden’s earliest promises — to run an administration marked by respect and professionalism.

An internal review by the White House found credible evidence that Lander, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, bullied staff in violation of the White House’s “safe and respectful workplace policy,” which was intended in part to draw a contrast with the Trump administration.

Lander’s resignation came after the White House struggled throughout the day to explain why he had not quit or been fired, and how that squared with a pledge Biden made on his first day in office. On that day, he told staffers at swearing-in ceremony, “If you are ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on...