WASHINGTON — Gale A. Norton, the Bush administration's leading advocate for expanding oil and gas drilling and other industrial interests in the West, resigned Friday after five years as secretary of the Interior Department.
Norton's departure ends a controversial tenure viewed as largely favorable to energy and mining interests at the expense, critics say, of environmentally sensitive areas and a tradition that used to give more weight to science than politics.
She is leaving amid a Washington ethics scandal that has touched her department: Multiple investigations are examining possible links between Norton's former deputy, J. Steven Griles, and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January to defrauding his clients and conspiracy to bribe members of Congress.
Norton, who turns 52 today, told reporters that the investigations were unrelated to her decision to leave, which she said was entirely personal. Her resignation letter was dated Thursday, and her exit becomes effective at month's end. But, she said, administration officials have known for some time that she was planning to depart.
The Interior secretary said she had remained after hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast last year, crippling the region's oil business and sparking nationwide shortages. "Really, I might have made the decision to leave earlier had it not been for things like the hurricanes ... that took so much of our time and effort," she said.
On Friday, Norton dismissed any potential links among herself, her agency and Abramoff, saying she had no knowledge of dealings between Griles and the lobbyist that have drawn the scrutiny of investigators.
"I'm very confident that the decisions made at the Department of Interior have been based on the facts and the law and have been appropriate," she said. Norton called Griles a "great asset of this department.... What I saw of his conduct was above board and very conscientious."
Norton, a former Colorado attorney general who previously had represented mining, timber and oil companies, said she did not have a new job lined up. She has been mentioned as a potential successor to Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, a term-limited Republican, although Norton said Friday she was more interested in the private sector.
President Bush, in a written statement, called Norton a "strong advocate for the wise use and protection of our nation's natural resources."
