University Law Prof. Jon Cannon withdrew his nomination for Deputy Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, following in the footsteps of several other potential members of President Obama’s administration who similarly withdrew their nominations.
Cannon said he chose to withdraw his nomination because of his affiliation with the non-profit organization America’s Clean Water Foundation, according to an EPA statement released Wednesday. The foundation came under fire for mishandling more than $25 million of federal funds between 1998 and 2004. According to a report issued by the EPA in February 2007, the organization did not comply with grant regulations and failed to document its costs.
Though Cannon, who served on the Board of Directors for the organization, was not personally responsible for the organization’s mishandling, he said felt that his former affiliation with the organization would disrupt the EPA’s future progress.
“While my service on the board of that now-dissolved organization is not the subject of the scrutiny, I believe the energy and environmental challenges facing our nation are too great to delay confirmation for this position, and I do not wish to present any distraction to the agency,” Cannon said according to the statement.
Cannon’s resignation came as a surprise to some, especially to those serving on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which was scheduled to begin Cannon’s confirmation hearing yesterday.
“We were very surprised yesterday to receive the notice of his withdrawal,” said Matt Dempsey, a representative for the committee’s ranking Republican member Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. “We certainly expected Sen. Inhofe to confirm the nomination.”
Politics Prof. Larry Sabato expressed a similar sentiment.
“Both senior Senate Democrats and Republicans had planned to support Cannon’s confirmation, so his withdrawal is a big surprise,” Sabato stated in an e-mail. “He probably would have been confirmed.”
Cannon’s withdrawal follows a series of nomination withdrawals within the Obama administration. Sabato speculated that this trend could be a result of the administration’s high standards.
“The Obama Administration has had a fair number of problems with its nominees for various positions,” he said. “The mantra seems to be, ‘One strike and you’re out,’ which may be setting the bar too high.”
A replacement for Cannon has yet to be named. Dempsey said the Environment and Public Works Committee has yet to release any possible nominations.
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