Consumer Product Safety Commission chief resigns

Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Ann Brown, an ally of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., in disfavor with President Bush, said Wednesday that she is resigning and will leave the agency no later than Nov. 1. "I think it's important that President Bush has his own chairman here," Brown said in an interview with the Associated Press. Brown said she would leave sooner if a new chairman is nominated and confirmed by the Senate. She urged the president to "pick someone who shares his philosophy and believes in the mission of this agency." Bush had nominated CPSC member Mary Sheila Gall to replace Brown, but the Senate Commerce Committee last week rejected her nomination on a party-line vote. "It is clear that we need a new chairman ... immediately," said a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss. "Sen. Lott is dissatisfied that Mary Sheila Gall, who is a clearly qualified candidate, has not been confirmed by the Senate due to personal, partisan attacks." The current CPSC vice chairman, Thomas Moore, supported Gall and could become chairman if no one is confirmed by the time Brown leaves. Bush declined comment on Wednesday.