WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that Assistant Secretary Tom Weimer will be leaving the Department of the Interior to accept a new position as Republican Staff Director for the new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“It is with sincere regret that I accept your letter of resignation as the Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget,” Kempthorne told Weimer. “The silver lining to your departure is that ….the committee and the nation are fortunate to have your experience and professionalism.”
The Secretary noted that he “spent many long hours working together” with Weimer in preparation for the department's 2007 operating plan and the 2008 budget.
“I have come to admire your professionalism, your common sense and your problem-solving approach to issues,” the Secretary noted.
Weimer was sworn-in as Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget on December 29, 2005. From 2001-2005, Weimer served at Interior as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science and was named Acting Assistant Secretary for Water and Science in December 2004.
His federal experience has included previous service at Interior as Chief of Staff to Secretary Manuel Lujan, Jr. Other Federal service included professional staff and staff director appointments with two committees of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Before returning to Interior in 2001, he was legislative director for National Laboratory Affairs at the University of California. He has also directed the Program Office at the National Academy of Engineering in Washington, D.C., and has worked as a technical staff member at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and at the Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in Sunnyvale, California.