David Applegate, the chief scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey, has been reassigned to a new role at the Interior Department, according to internal emails viewed by POLITICO.
A career scientist with nearly 23 years at the survey, who was also serving as acting associate director of the Natural Hazards Mission Area, Applegate told colleagues in a recent email that he had the choice to accept the reassignment or leave federal employment.
“Such transfers come with the territory of being in a Senior Executive Service position,” he wrote, a reference to the management tier of federal employees just under political appointees, who can be ordered to new positions by a presidential administration.
It was not clear what new position Applegate, who served as the survey’s director during the Biden administration, would take. The Interior Department declined to comment on Applegate when asked Wednesday but defended its authority to reassign senior employees.
