The top science adviser for President Joe Biden is known for routinely bullying and demeaning his staff in front of their peers, discovered a White House investigation concerning his investigation.
The White House took steps to carry out an over two-month-long investigation into Eric Lander, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), due to complaints that Lander would make it a habit to demean and publically humiliate staff. The investigation ended this past January with a briefing on its findings by Christian Peele, the White House deputy director of management and administration for personnel.
As part of the briefing, Peele stated that the investigation managed to discover “credible evidence of disrespectful interactions with staff by Dr. Lander and OSTP leadership” and that Lander Spoke “harshly and disrespectfully to colleagues in front of other colleagues,” according to a recording of the that was sent to Politico.
“The investigation found credible evidence of instances of multiple women having complained to other staff about negative interactions with Dr. Lander, where he spoke to them in a demeaning or abrasive way in front of other staff,” Peele said.
Lander went on to apologize to staff in an email sent on Friday in the wake of discovering that the White House investigation was leaked to the public. Lander stated that he apologized for his conduct, stated that he knew he violated White House policies in how he handled his interactions with staff, and issued a promise for workplace reforms and new training and procedures.
“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,” stated Lander. “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.”
As part of his first public appearance since taking office, Biden issued the promise to outright fire “on the spot” any member of staff that was caught “treat[ing] another colleague with disrespect” or “talk[ing] down to someone.” as of writing, he has not made good on this promise when it comes to Lander.
The White Hosue, along with OSTP, noted Lander’s violations of White House policies in entirely separate statements. The White House stated Lander met with a group of top White House officials about the behavior. OSTP stated that “corrective action was taken.”
As stated in the recording of Peele, Lander will be made to conduct collaborative meetings alongside his staff and will be forced to undergo review between 30 and 34 days to ensure that he is still following White House policy.