This story was updated Friday.
Gov. Ned Lamont is holding a press conference at 2 p.m. Friday to announce the departure of Melissa McCaw as the secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.
Lamont, back in the country after a week-long trade mission to Israel, said in a telephone interview Thursday night he will make a statement Friday afternoon about “turning the page.”
Hearst Connecticut reported news of her pending departure Thursday evening, which was confirmed to the CT Mirror by sources.
Lamont declined to say Thursday night if her departure was voluntary, but sources said Friday that McCaw is leaving to become the finance director of East Hartford under Mayor Michael Walsh, who was elected in November.
McCaw could not be reached for comment.
Her status has been in question for weeks. It was disclosed on Feb. 2 that the FBI had subpoenaed records of projects overseen by her former deputy, Konstantinos Diamantis, and Diamantis had alleged McCaw had been disrespected by Lamont’s top aides.
McCaw opened a budget briefing Wednesday on Feb. 9 with an unusual statement saying her relationship with Lamont was constructive and respectful — while pointedly saying nothing about his staff.
In an interview last weekend, she distanced herself from the school construction program Diamantis ran before Lamont removed him on Oct. 28, but she declined to disavow his description of her standing with the governor’s chief of staff or his former chief operating officer.
“As the deputy secretary, he was privy to interactions and the work of the agency. He saw a lot. He certainly was a witness to what it has been like for me as the first Black female OPM secretary,” McCaw said. “And I’ll leave it at that.”