“The new chairwoman of a federal agency that investigates major industrial accidents has an unusual problem: she’s the only person on its five-member board, and President Donald Trump wants it shut down.
Katherine Lemos said she plans to continue the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s work after securing a legal opinion that she can operate as a “quorum of one.”
“We were pleasantly surprised by her selection,” said Jeff Ruch, a director with the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which has been critical of the Trump administration’s efforts to kill the safety board. “She actually appears to care about industrial safety. It’s better than it could have been; better than a lot of Trump appointees.””
