It was a remarkable moment in President Barack Obama’s press conference Thursday: just hours before, the head of the Minerals Management Service had left the top post at the agency that oversees offshore oil drilling.
And yet, the president said he didn’t know whether Liz Birnbaum had resigned or been fired.
“Now, with respect to Ms. Birnbaum, I found out about her resignation today,” Obama said. “So I don't know the circumstances in which this occurred.”
That explanation flummoxed reporters in the room, who seemed surprised to learn that the president wouldn’t know exactly what had happened to one of the key figures in an ongoing federal emergency – the one he was holding a news conference on at that very moment.
The news of Birnbaum’s departure broke publicly more than two hours before Obama stepped into the East Room.
The New York Times’ Jackie Calmes pressed for an answer.
“I'm also curious as how it is that you didn't know about Ms. Birnbaum's resignation/firing before,” Calmes said.
“Well, you're assuming it was a firing,” the president responded. “If it was a resignation, then she would have submitted a letter to Mr. Salazar this morning at a time when I had a whole bunch of other stuff going on.”
“So you rule out that she was fired?” Calmes asked.
“I'm — come on, I don't know,” Obama replied. “I'm telling you the — I found out about it this morning. So I don't yet know the circumstances, and Ken Salazar has been in testimony on the Hill.”
An administration official explained after the press conference that Salazar told the President Wednesday night that he had decided to replace Birnbaum at the Minerals Management Service after the President told the Secretary to make sure that every person under him was “capable of doing the job he or she had.” - Politico Story
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