White House Denies Story of NASA Chief Resigning

The White House today said it has no information that James M. Beggs, NASA’s director currently on a court-induced leave, intends to step down soon.

“There is no change in the director or the acting director of NASA,” said White House spokesman Larry Speakes. “We have nothing from Beggs that he intends to resign.”

Speakes, commenting on a report in the Wall Street Journal, said no one at the White House was talking to Beggs about stepping down, as the newspaper reported.

Beggs took a leave of absence in December after he was indicted on fraud charges unrelated to his NASA post. He was accused of improperly charging the Pentagon for cost overruns while a vice president of General Dynamics.

The newspaper said Beggs plans to resign soon and quoted him as saying that William Graham, acting chief of NASA who was formerly Beggs’ deputy, should not be allowed to replace him.

“He’s not qualified . . . read his resume,” the newspaper quoted Beggs as saying.

Graham told the newspaper that he had done a good job leading NASA through “this very difficult crisis” and that “obviously, all the decisions of the past influenced where we are today.”

The article quoted an unidentified senior White House official as saying the Administration wanted Beggs to quit. “You just can’t leave this thing hanging with an acting administrator,” the official said.

The official was quoted as saying Beggs apparently wants a large role in choosing his successor in the job. “We are not about to give him veto power over the selection,” the official said.