Federal officials indicated on Thursday that the White House would be withdrawing the nomination of Jeffrey Byard to be head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency after inquiries into his past revealed a possible barroom altercation that troubled Congress and White House officials.
The FBI did not find “substantial” evidence of the incident, but concerns remained after his vetting process was complete. The White House is expected to nominate acting administrator of FEMA Peter T. Gaynor in his place.
Concerns about Byard’s past became apparent last week when Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson confirmed that there was a delay in the nomination, which was expected to go to a vote in the Senate in the near future. “There were some issues raised that are being investigated and that’s all I’ll say about it,” the senator said.
Byard has served as associate administrator of the Office of Response and Recovery for the past two years. Trump announced his nomination to head FEMA in February after former FEMA chief Brad Long was accused of improperly using government vehicles.
The inquiry into Byard’s past, which preceded his post at the Office of Response and Recovery, didn’t arise until after the June vote by Senate Homeland Security Committee to forward Byard’s nomination to the full Senate.
FEMA did not comment on the allegations made against Byard and the Office of Homeland Security stated that they were unable to comment on personal conduct allegations that occurred before an individual became an official employee.
It was not immediately clear when the alleged incident took place.
