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Chief justice's daughter to resign government postRehnquist being investigated for alleged misconduct
From Jonathan Karl and George Cooper
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Janet Rehnquist, daughter of U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, is stepping down as inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services in the face of allegations of professional misconduct, several sources told CNN on Tuesday. In a letter to President Bush dated Tuesday, Rehnquist said she was resigning effective June 1 to spend more time with her teenage daughters and pursue other professional opportunities. "I am proud of the record of accomplishment during my tenure," she wrote. She was appointed to the post by Bush and took office in August 2001. As inspector general, Rehnquist supervises about 1,600 employees and acts as the department's internal watchdog. Rehnquist has been under investigation by the Senate Finance Committee and the General Accounting Office on allegations of official misconduct, including that she improperly delayed an audit of the Florida state pension system. Rehnquist has consistently denied any wrongdoing. In addition, Rehnquist was being investigated by the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency -- a group that oversees inspectors general -- because of allegations that she had a handgun in her office. White house 'wishes her well'In her letter to the president, Rehnquist said her office saved taxpayers more than $21 billion in her first year in office and was "poised to beat those numbers this year." She said her office also made strides in child-support enforcement and, in a few weeks, will issue guidance to ensure proper government payment for prescription drugs. Her resignation comes as the top Republican and top Democrat of the Senate Finance Committee prepared to call for her to step down. Finance Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told the White House of his intention this week. White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said "The president appreciates her services and wishes her well." Buchan said the White House had no comment on the allegations. Tom Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at HHS and a friend of Rehnquist, defended her. "Her biggest problem is that her name is Rehnquist," he said in a statement. "She was an easy target. She's had a lot of people in her own agency taking shots at her." Questions connected to president's brotherGrassley and Montana Democratic Sen. Max Baucus asked the GAO to perform a management review of the inspector general's office in October after whistleblowers complained that Rehnquist had forced out a number of senior staff members. One former staff member told CNN that Rehnquist "moved people and destroyed careers because she thought they were disloyal." In a television interview in January, Rehnquist said she made the staff changes "for the good of the organization." The GAO has also been investigating whether Rehnquist delayed an audit of Florida's pension fund at the request of Gov. Jeb Bush's office. HHS documents show that the audit had been scheduled to begin in April 2002, but Rehnquist, after speaking with the governor's chief of staff, ordered it postponed. The audit did not begin until September 2002, which meant the results would not come out before Bush's re-election in November. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee in December, Rehnquist said Governor Bush's office asked for the delay because of a pending change in leadership at the state pension office. Rehnquist said her "decision to delay the audit was based on the merits and not motivated by political reasons."
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