Rehnquist resigns as inspector general

March 10, 2003 WASHINGTON - OIG Inspector Janet Rehnquist submitted her resignation to President Bush last week, but don't expect that to change how the department investigates fraud and abuse. "The OIG won't miss a beat," said John Gallagher, VGM's vice president of government affairs. "The career OIG (employees) will still be their doing what they do every day and waiting for a new political appointee. In fact, until President Bush appoints a replacement, Rehnquist's resignation will have little impact on HMEs, said Dave Williams, Invacare's director of government relations. During the year and a half since she was appointed by the President, Rehnquist, the daughter of Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, has been accused of bringing an unloaded, unlicensed 9-mm. handgun to work; shredding documents; running up questionable travel expenses and forcing out many respected career officials - including all six of her deputies. In her March 4 resignation letter to President Bush, however, Rehnquist stated she will leave her position June "in order to spend more time with my teenage daughters and pursue other professional opportunities."