Monday, January 10, 2011

Deputy Interior secretary to leave post

Interior secretary Ken Salazar's chief aide is leaving his job.

Assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks Tom Strickland, who also serves as Salazar's chief of staff, will resign effective sometime in February, according to a report in The Hill.

He will be temporarily replaced as assistant secretary by Will Shafroth, who is currently deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, and as chief of staff by his deputy, Laura Daniel Davis.

Strickland was Colorado's Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and 2002. A lawyer, he has been the state's U.S. attorney, a partner in a law firm, and an executive of a health insurance firm.

Salazar told the Denver Post that Strickland's departure is not an indication of any staff shakeup at Interior.