Eric Lander, a top White House scientist, apologizes after internal report found

But Lander did not lose his job on Monday, and the White House struggled to explain how that squared with a pledge Biden made on his first day in office, when he told staffers during a swearing-in ceremony: “If you are ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot. On the spot — no if, ands or buts.”