Senators urge Obama to remove NASA watchdog

FLORIDA TODAY's Eun Kyung Kim reports:

WASHINGTON - A group of U.S. senators is urging President Barack Obama to immediately remove NASA Inspector General Robert "Moose" Cobb from his job, calling him an ineffective and vindictive leader.

"Since his appointment in 2002, Mr. Cobb has been repeatedly accused of stifling investigations, retaliating against whistleblowers and prioritizing social relationships with top NASA officials over proper federal oversight," the lawmakers said in their letter Wednesday to the president.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees NASA, wrote the letter with Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

The lawmakers are among the latest to demand Cobb leave his position. Last year, a similar call was made by Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who sits on the commerce panel, and Rep. Bart Gordon, the Tennessee Democrat who chairs the House Science and Technology Committee.

Former President George W. Bush nominated Cobb and continued to back him even after an independent presidential panel report said Cobb created a hostile work environment and "compromised numerous investigations due to ties to agency leadership."