Torres Leads Call for Resignation of Energy Appointee Following News of Disturbing Tweets
ONTARIO, CA – Today Rep. Norma J. Torres (D-Pomona) led a group of Democrats in calling for the resignation of recent Department of Energy appointee William Bradford after recent news reports revealed highly inappropriate social media postings concerning the ethnicity, religion, and gender identity of former President Barack Obama, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, TV news host Megyn Kelly, and Japanese-Americans during World War II.
"The tweets that have recently come to light are offensive and disgusting, but they are particularly shameful coming from a government official, especially one whose primary responsibility is working with an often marginalized community," said Torres. "These posts show a lack of judgement and outright prejudice that make William Bradford completely unfit to serve as Director of the Office of Indian Energy, and Secretary Perry should immediately terminate his appointment."
Bradford was recently appointed as Director of the Office of Indian Energy at the Department of Energy. The Director of the Office of Indian Energy is tasked with working with public officials of all political parties to help Native American and Alaska Native communities maximize the value of their energy resources.
"This kind of behavior has no place in the federal government," continued Torres. "What does it say to our children when we allow public officials in the highest offices to make such hate-filled remarks without even a slap on the wrist? While these actions are by no means surprising given the recent actions of our Commander in Chief, we simply cannot allow them to go unpunished. Our country is better than that.
The letter to Secretary Perry was cosigned by Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), and James McGovern (D-MA).