Top Ridge aide resigns
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge's chief of staff, Bruce Lawlor, has retired after eight months on the job.
The Department of Homeland Security said last week that Lawler, a former Army major general, was stepping down after 29 years of public service to teach at the university level.
Lawler is the second top lieutenant to leave Ridge's side during the past couple of months. The White House reassigned Deputy Secretary Gordon England to his former post as Secretary of the Navy in August.
Lawler was immediately replaced by his deputy, Duncan Campbell, whose slot now is open. Lawler will continue to serve on the Homeland Security Advisory Council.
Prior to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Campbell worked for Ridge in the Office of Homeland Security at the White House as director of intergovernmental affairs and as deputy chief of staff during Ridge's tenure as governor of Pennsylvania.