The fight with the two board members is not the only controversy swirling around Lemos, who has come under criticism from outside groups for her spending on travel and other expenses.
The organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) reported last year that between joining the board in 2020 and May 2021, Lemos spent $33,000 on travel, mainly from her home in California to Washington based on documents the group received from a Freedom of Information Act request. PEER also reported that she spent nearly $20,000 in office renovations despite a $5,000 cap for government officials.
A source who viewed a budget document separately told The Hill this week that for fiscal year 2022, the CSB had budgeted $50,000 for Lemos’s “intercity travel” between her home in San Diego, which the agency recently designated as Lemos’s official base, and Washington.
