D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Friday withdrew the nomination of a Cabinet-level appointee under fire for using an employee as a chauffeur and staying at an expensive hotel at taxpayer expense.
Mr. Gray announced he had pulled the nomination of Rochelle Webb, his choice to head the city’s Department of Employment Services (DOES), in a press release issued late Friday afternoon.
The release said the mayor made the decision after consulting with Council member Michael A. Brown, at-large independent and chairman of the Committee on Housing and Workforce Development that has oversight of DOES.
“With all the different issues cascading around, it was becoming difficult for her to lead this very important agency,” Mr. Brown said Friday.
Ms. Webb came under fire after reports in the Washington City Paper that she disclosed to a council member that she illegally used an agency employee to drive her to and from her home in violation of D.C. law for the first two months of her employment.
The D.C. Examiner reported last month that city taxpayers paid about $5,000 for Ms. Webb to stay for four weeks at the W Hotel.
Her son, Brandon Webb, was among the children of several high-ranking government officials who were given city jobs. Mr. Webb resigned last month from a $65,000-a-year job at the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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