BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. Bobby Jindal's natural resources secretary, Scott Angelle, has resigned from the job that he's held for more than eight years.
Jindal's office announced Angelle's decision Wednesday without offering any explanation for the departure.
But the announcement comes amid speculation that Angelle, who has been a member of the governor's inner circle of advisers, is considering a bid for a vacant seat on the Public Service Commission in this fall's election.
The governor appointed Stephen Chustz, an assistant secretary to Angelle, to lead the Department of Natural Resources as its interim secretary.
Angelle had been DNR secretary since 2004, when he was named to the job by then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Jindal named Angelle to a seat on the LSU Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.