White House Studies Removing Head of Consumer Safety Panel

WASHINGTON —  The White House said Friday it has the legal authority to remove Ann W. Brown as the chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

That conclusion may prolong the battle over leadership of an agency that usually attracts little scrutiny.

The Senate Commerce Committee this week rejected President Bush’s choice to head the agency on a party-line vote.

The Bush administration said the vote against Mary Sheila Gall was partisan because she is already a member of the commission, previously confirmed by the Senate.

Senate Democrats said they were concerned that Gall’s hands-off regulatory record made her ill-suited to head the agency charged with, among other things, protecting children from unsafe products.

Gall’s defeat makes it difficult for Bush to select his own CPSC head because there is no vacancy at the three-member agency. Gall wants to stay, and Brown, a Democrat who opposed Gall’s nomination, has no plans to leave as long as she remains chairwoman.

White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said the administration concluded that it could remove Brown but had not yet decided whether it would. Brown, who could remain as a commissioner, was not available for comment.

There may be a challenge if the White House tries to demote Brown because the law governing the commission is vague on the removal of a chairman.

Democrats have argued that the president can remove a chairman only with Senate consent.