Whitman To Quit As EPA Chief

Christie Whitman, who has often been at odds with the White House over environmental issues, submitted her resignation Wednesday as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Whitman said in a letter to President Bush that she was leaving to spend time with family.

"As rewarding as the past two-and-a-half years have been for me professionally, it is time to return to my home and husband in New Jersey, which I love just as you do your home state of Texas," she wrote Bush.

With Whitman's departure, Bush loses one of the most prominent women in his Cabinet -- a moderate former New Jersey governor selected by the president to help soften his image as a political conservative, particularly on environmental issues.

Whitman had a history of clashing with the White House, starting with the president's abrupt decision to withdraw from the international global warming treaty. She had been the administration's point person in rolling back environmental protections initiated by previous administrations.

As his re-election campaign gears up, Bush's senior staff and advisers consider the next few months as optimum time to leave the government; otherwise, they will be expected to remain aboard until after the 2004 election. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer announced Monday that he will resign in July.

Bush will be under pressure to replace Whitman with a nominee who will acceptable to his GOP supporters without alienating swing voters who tend to be wary of Republicans on the environment.

Whitman, a former New Jersey governor, said her resignation is effective June 27.

She met with Bush at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to inform him of her decision, the agency said.

Whitman, 56, joined the administration after seven years as governor of New Jersey, where she made preservation a priority but never managed to convince environmentalists she was one of them.

Critics said that in the name of attracting businesses, she compromised water pollution protections and cut spending for state offices that prosecute environmental abuses by industry. Whitman, an avid mountain biker and skier, insisted she retained needed protections while eliminating red tape.

When the Bush administration took office, Whitman had only the briefest honeymoon. Within the first three months, she had upset industry executives and conservationists, disappointed moderates who like her and angered conservatives who don't.

The conservation group Friends of the Earth wasted little time in urging her to resign, saying that Bush's decisions on the environment had undermined her credibility. But Whitman stood steadfastly behind Bush, even when their own disagreements became public.

As she did while New Jersey governor, Whitman frequently hit the road for official as well as political trips around the country. But she said her goal was to spend weekends, when possible, back home in New Jersey. "It's important for my sanity," she said.

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