By AMY HARDER
Nearly 250 people packed a room at the Council on Foreign Relations this afternoon to question former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Rep. Vin Weber, R-Minn., on the forward-looking report [PDF] that they and more than 30 other foreign policy experts produced for the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project last fall.
There was no shortage of timely topics to jump-start the conversation. President Obama has already undertaken a series of actions, such as appointing special envoys to the Middle East and appearing on Arab TV, that suggest he's reaching out to Muslims. While Albright and Weber said they didn't know if the new administration had absorbed the report word for word, Obama seems to be taking the steps the group has put forth, they said.
The media's coverage of the president's early moves, paired with the conflict in Gaza, present the administration with a double-edged sword in its Middle East policy, Weber said. "The good news is that our issues are on the front burner," he said. "The bad news is our issues are really on the front burner." Weber said the administration is in "delicate stages" on various issues throughout the Middle East. Moderator Barbara Slavin, the Washington Times' assistant managing editor for world and national security, brought up two such sensitive topics: the upcoming elections in Israel and Iran. In both cases, Weber and Albright said, the U.S. needs to tread lightly and ensure that it doesn't interject itself into the politics surrounding the elections.
Weber emphasized that he's "most concerned" with the Iranian presidential elections, which take place in June. Iranians hang on America's "every word," he said, adding that the U.S. must be "very, very careful to hold our tongue until after the elections."
In responding to questions from the audience, the two briefly touched upon nearly all the daunting challenges the administration faces in the Middle East: where America's priorities should be regarding Afghanistan and Pakistan, promotion of democracy versus enforcement, and how the media influences both Americans' perception of the Middle East and the Middle East's perception of the U.S.
In recent interviews with with NationalJournal.com, Albright and Weber discussed these topics and more. At the CFR discussion, Albright said that a crucial first step in improving the relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world is more comprehensive and educational coverage in the media. It should focus on more than just violence in the Middle East, for instance, Albright said. Weber echoed her thoughts. U.S. press coverage in this region "doesn't give a textured view of what the Middle East is really like," he said.
CFR's Melinda Brouwer, who helped coordinate the event, said that about 240 people attended, including many who were involved in the report, as well as foreign news organizations reporting back to Indonesia and Pakistan. Albright and Weber were certainly a big draw, giving CFR what Brouwer called its biggest audience and camera-drawing press corps since its recent relocation from Massachusetts Avenue to 18th and F streets.
The "Administration" category of NationalJournal.com's Promise Audit is freshly updated, but we thought one pledge deserved a closer look.
By ALINA SELYUKH
Shoving aside two unsuccessful examples, President Obama plans to attempt his own take on a pledge made previously by both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to "thin the ranks of Washington middle managers." In a document released on the campaign trail titled "The Change We Need in Washington," Obama promised he would free up resources "both for deficit reduction and for increasing the number of frontline workers."
Experts agree the promise might be hard to measure and -- more importantly -- accomplish.
"The vast majority of federal employees are not managerial, so it's not clear, if we pursued this promise vigorously, how much in savings we'd reap or how many folks we'd get to move to the front lines," said Robert Shea, an associate director for the Bush administration's Office of Management and Budget.
Obama adds complexity by committing to move middle managers to the front line. Without that clause, the promise would be "a lot easier to execute," said Paul Light, who researches federal bureaucracy as a public service professor at New York University. After all key OMB players are on board, Light expects a plan to slowly take shape, but making downward shifts will be "a real problem." The administration may reclassify someone as on the front line, but stripping away higher pay is a cumbersome process. "The most efficient way is to remove the occupant or take advantage of the occupant's retirement and recreate the position on the lower level," he said.
Reclassifying instead of eliminating jobs is what undermined Clinton's plan, Light said. The initiative to cut management layers and do away with superfluous positions, around 252,000 in all, morphed into creation of new de facto middle managers under different titles. Clinton's "Reinventing Government" program made the mistake of proposing personnel cuts across the board, Shea said. The cuts "weren't done strategically, so programs that needed more employees probably lost some," he said. "Doing anything like this across the board is a bad idea."
The Clinton plan also came under fire for applying the private sector's manager-employee and supervisory ratios, something Darryl Perkinson, national president of the Federal Managers Association, dismissed as a poor replacement for conversations with middle managers about their place and potential in government affairs.
"In my 29 years, I have worked with only a handful of people that had no business being employed in the government," he said. "I have seen people in the wrong jobs at times, but if they were properly placed they could function and be useful." Referring to Obama's promise to eliminate redundant federal programs by evaluating each and every one of them, Perkinson said the examination "will in most cases highlight the inefficiency is due to the incomplete or misdirected policy of the program, not the effort of the manager."
Bush never took up his promise to reduce the ranks of middle managers by 40,000 though attrition. But Shea said OMB "always had a challenge keeping all positions filled, and we could have used more people in certain areas, but we never made the case."
Light estimated that 14 percent of full-time civil servants in the federal government -- 200,000 to 250,000 people -- are managers of some kind. Depending on what definition of a middle manager guided Obama's promise, the administration might have to fire a number of them to actually reduce spending on salaries while increasing frontline help. That's "easy and very painful to do," Light said. "It's a terrible economy in which to dump... however many middle managers into a Washington economy or a regional economy."
While speculation about Obama's exact plans is premature before his 2010 budget is released in February, specialists agree the administration is unlikely to repeat past mistakes.
Light said the first indication of progress might be a decrease in jobs classified as managerial, which "will take a little bit of time." Shea, however, was less optimistic about obvious signs of the promise's implementation.
"We may not know when or if it is fulfilled," he said.
By MARY GILBERT
Vice President Biden was formally announced today as chairman of the new White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families. Biden and President Obama went before TV cameras in the East Room of the White House to introduce the initiative, which was originally announced last month.
"Quite simply, a strong middle class equals a strong America. We can't have one without the other," said Biden, who took several jabs at the previous administration for, in his opinion, neglecting all but the wealthiest Americans. He also took a subtle swipe at former Vice President Cheney's penchant for secrecy, insisting that he will ensure that the operations of the task force are "fully transparent."
The vice president laid out his vision for the initiative in an op-ed piece in this morning's USA Today. The task force will include the secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Commerce and the directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. A new Web site launched today, AStrongMiddleClass.gov, will chronicle the task force's meetings and efforts, as well as allow users to share their stories and ideas with the administration. The group's first meeting will take place in Philadelphia on Feb. 27 and will focus on "green jobs."
Obama also signed three executive orders strengthening workers and unions involved in federal contracts and reversing Bush-era decisions.
President Obama knocked as "shameful" Wall Street's decision to hand out $20 billion in bonuses as the government continued to bail out leading financial institutions. (New York Times)
Michelle Obama's fingerprints were all over the fair-pay legislation Obama signed into law Thursday -- a sign that the first lady could play an influential role in policy matters when she chooses to. (Washington Post)
Obama has stocked the White House with a coterie of prominent, left-leaning lawyers, part of an effort to roll back the legal doctrines cooked up under President Bush. (Washington Post)
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is asking Obama to renominate three Bush judicial nominees as a sign of bipartisanship. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Some donors with access to Obama have expressed concerns that security around him is too lax. (Washington Post)
Despite blasting the power former Vice President Dick Cheney wielded as "dangerous," Vice President Joe Biden has made it clear that he still wants a seat at the table and a robust portfolio of responsibilities. (Wall Street Journal)
Newly minted Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman (D), whom some deride as "D-Biden" for being seen as holding the seat for the vice president's son, already has his eyes on the finish line. (New York Times)
Name Games
The Congressional Black Caucus wants Obama to name John Thompson, CEO of Symantec and an African American, as the next Commerce secretary. (The Hill)
Meanwhile, Obama is considering Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., for the post, an appointment that would likely net the Democrats a Senate seat and dramatically shift the balance of power in Congress. (New York Times)
Obama has named Citigroup executive and friend Michael Froman to an "unusual, joint position with the National Security Council and the National Economic Council." (Wall Street Journal)
Confirmation Wrangling
Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis' nomination is in limbo after she failed to impress Republican senators with her answers about controversial pro-labor legislation, such as right-to-work laws and the Employee Free Choice Act. (Los Angeles Times)
The Senate Finance Committee will schedule a hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle in the next few days, according to ranking member Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. (CongressDaily -- subscription)
Daschle's chief of staff, former lobbyist Mark B. Childress, adds another exception to the new administration's strict new ethics rules. (Politico)
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Grassley aren't happy with William Lynn, Obama's choice for deputy Defense secretary and are demanding more details about his record at the Pentagon and his lobbying background. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)
Republicans are still uneasy about Attorney General-designate Eric Holder's refusal to rule out prosecuting intelligence agents for allegations of torture. (Politico)
By AMY HARDER
President Obama today announced his nomination of Ivan K. Fong as general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. Fong is currently chief legal officer and secretary for medical product company Cardinal Health. During his time as deputy associate attorney general under President Clinton, he wrote The Electronic Frontier: The Challenge Of Unlawful Conduct Involving The Use Of The Internet, a report on cyber crime policy.
Does this suggest that the new administration is placing more emphasis on cyber security? Perhaps. National Journal's Shane Harris examined this issue in a recent article (subscribers only). Any legal expertise would be helpful to DHS as it struggles with its own role in cyber security. The appointment could also signal that the government is aiming to articulate better what government is able to do with private networks.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano also named three members of her staff. David A. Martin, a member of Obama's DHS agency review team, will be Napolitano's principal deputy general counsel. Brian de Vallance will be the secretary's senior counselor; he was Napolitano's director of federal relations when she was Arizona governor. Sean Smith will be deputy assistant secretary for public affairs. He previously served as the Pennsylvania communications director for the Obama campaign.
By MARY GILBERT
President Obama this morning signed the first legislation he received from Congress, a bill against wage discrimination whose namesake took the stage with him in a White House ceremony.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act makes it easier for workers to sue their employers for unequal pay under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, affirming that they can bring charges within 180 days of any affected paycheck. Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and members of Congress from both parties were on hand for the signing, and a noisy group of supporters broke into cheers when Ledbetter took her place next to the president. "It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign... we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama told the audience.
The president argued that equal pay "is by no means just a women's issue -- it's a family issue" that affects countless two-income American households. He noted that gender is not the only basis on which people are discriminated against and said he intended to send the message "that there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal but bad for business to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."
The president framed pay discrimination as a moral, rather than simply an economic matter. "It's a question of who we are -- and whether we're truly living up to our fundamental ideals," he said. Obama also referenced the women in his life -- his grandmother, who became one of the first female vice presidents of the Bank of Hawaii, and his daughters, whom he hopes will "grow up in a nation that values their contributions, where there are no limits to their dreams and they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers never could have imagined."
Obama said the Ledbetter bill is just the first in a series of steps that must be taken to eliminate the pay gap between men and women "and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons."
After President Obama offered the Muslim world an olive branch on Arab television earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded the U.S. apologize for its treatment of Iran over the past 60 years. (New York Times)
On Wednesday, House Republicans delayed a vote on extending the digital television transition deadline, a postponement Obama supports. (Washington Times)
With less than two weeks in office, Obama is bringing an "Aloha Zen" to the White House -- relaxing the West Wing dress code, keeping later hours and running meetings with less concern for time constraints. (New York Times)
Obama joked Wednesday that Washingtonians need to develop "some flinty Chicago toughness" after the city shut down schools on account of light snow and ice. (NationalJournal.com)
Obama's pledge to limit lobbyist influence in his administration is clashing with the need to hire the best and brightest. (The Hill)
Since Jan. 20, Obama hasn't strayed more than four miles from the White House. With plenty to do in the capital, he'll likely continue to send his emissaries around the world in his place. (Washington Post)
Tech industry insiders say they're feeling the love as Obama "has shown he understands that innovation and technology can drive the economy." (Roll Call -- subscription)
Name Games
Attorney General-designate Eric Holder's nomination cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday with a 17-2 vote. (CongressDaily)
Obama will name Josh DuBois, a 26-year-old Pentecostal pastor and political strategist, to lead an office of faith-based initiatives with even broader influence than in the Bush administration. (New York Times)
Labor groups and Democrats are battling with Republicans over the confirmation of Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., for Labor secretary. (CongressDailyAM -- subscription)
Adm. Dennis Blair, approved Wednesday by the Senate Intelligence Committee to be national intelligence director, has "substantial financial interests in Tyco International." (Politico)
Securities and Exchange Committee Chairwoman Mary Schapiro is taking a payout valued between $5 million and $25 million from her former employer, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. (Wall Street Journal)
Stimulus Wrangling
After Obama reached out to Republican lawmakers and made concessions in the bill, the stimulus package passed the House without a single GOP vote. (Wall Street Journal)
Just 5 percent of the $819 billion stimulus package will go towards infrastructure improvements such as highway, mass transit and rail projects. (Boston Globe)
Tech industry CEOs, a handful of whom met with Obama Wednesday, support the stimulus package after calling the nation's economic predicament "dire." (Wall Street Journal)
California was one of the big winners Wednesday: The Golden State will pocket as much as $63 billion in federal funds. (Los Angeles Times)
By MARY GILBERT
The stimulus bill before the House today allocates billions of dollars for infrastructure projects, but according to a new study [PDF] from the American Society of Civil Engineers, an even larger investment is necessary. To fix a "crumbling" infrastructure system that it gives a grade of D, the ASCE is recommending $2.2 trillion -- from the government and private sector -- over the next five years.
"Decades of underfunding and inattention have jeopardized the ability of our nation's infrastructure to support our economy and facilitate our way of life," the ASCE argues in introducing its 2009 Report Card For America's Infrastructure.
The latest version of the stimulus package allocates "$27 billion for highways, $19.5 billion for schools, $9 billion to expand broadband Internet access, and $8.4 billion for mass transit," according to U.S. News & World Report. In ASCE's report, roads, schools and transit each received a grade of D or D-. However, other D- areas -- for example, drinking water, inland waterways and wastewater -- are not addressed by the legislation moving through Congress.
ASCE stresses the role that infrastructure projects could have in improving the nation's economic health in both the short term and long term and suggests that the federal government should take a leadership role in tackling the problem.
By DAVID HERBERT
President Obama sought to reassure skeptics of his proposed stimulus package at a midday press conference, promising to quickly pump the funds into the economy and provide transparency through a new Web site.
Obama, who has tried, unsuccessfully thus far, to woo Republican support for the plan, said he understood concerns about the package.
"I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan," he said. "I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my administration accountable."
Most of the money will go right back out the door, Obama added, reiterating his pledge to spend three-quarters of the funds by the start of 2011. Critics have scrutinized that contention in recent days, following the release of a Congressional Budget Office report that says just 64 percent of the $825 billion package will be spent by the end of next year.
Obama also announced that would-be auditors will be able to track stimulus spending on the new Web site recovery.gov. (The site is more or less treating the package as a fait accompli, reading, "Check back after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to see how and where your tax dollars are spent.")
Obama said his administration was putting up the Web site "because I firmly believe with Justice [Louis] Brandeis that sunlight is the best disinfectant, and I know that restoring transparency is not only the surest way to achieve results, but also to earn back that trust in government without which we cannot deliver the changes the American people sent us here to make."
The press conference followed a morning meeting between the president and a collection of business leaders. Among them were Steve Appleton (Micron), David Barger (JetBlue), Greg Brown (Motorola), John Bryson (Edison), David Cote (Honeywell), Debra Lee (BET), Anne Mulcahy (Xerox), Sam Palmisano (IBM), Antonio Perez (Kodak), Eric Schmidt (Google), Michael Splinter (Applied Materials), Wendell Weeks (Corning) and Ronald Williams (Aetna).
By MARY GILBERT
The White House counsel serves as the president's personal lawyer, providing legal advice on policy decisions, legislation and potential conflicts of interest. Greg Craig was appointed counsel on Nov. 19; the president has now named three deputy counsels, a special counsel and 14 associate counsels to assist Craig.
Daniel Meltzer, a professor at Obama's alma mater, Harvard Law School, and, like the president, a former head of the Harvard Law Review, has been named as a deputy White House counsel and deputy assistant to the president. Meltzer served a stint at the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare before entering academia and took part in the investigation of the Iran-Contra Affair in the 1980s.
Mary DeRosa, a member of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's staff, has been selected as the deputy counsel to the president for national security affairs and legal adviser to the National Security Council. DeRosa also worked for the Clinton White House. The president's selected deputy counsel for economic policy, Neal Wolin, most recently worked in the private sector but has also served as a Treasury department lawyer and an assistant to then-National Security Advisor Anthony Lake in the Clinton White House.
And Norman L. Eisen, who was lead ethics adviser to the Obama transition team, will continue to work for the president as special counsel for ethics and government reform. Co-founder of watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Eisen will, according to a White House press release, help "to advance the president's overall government reform agenda."
Full bios, provided by the White House, are available after the jump.
Continue reading Office Of Counsel To The President Takes Shape.
Virtually all schools in the Washington area are either closed or delayed today. The government, while open, implemented its "unscheduled leave" policy in case employees couldn't make it in. The area's roads and Metro traffic were unusually slow for a weekday morning. And the newscasts talked about all of it, over and over again. Yup, it's the winter's first snowfall -- and ice -- in D.C.
President Obama turned his Chicago-bred nose up at Washingtonians this morning, saying that this city shuts down at any sign of inclement weather. Pool reporter Jon Ward of the Washington Times captured his comments in Poolitzer Prize-worthy fashion.
His report, edited only for clarity, follows:
POTUS makes humorous remarks about the inability of D.C. schools and residents to "handle" wintry weather, says he is "confident" stimulus bill will pass.At 10:34 a.m., pool was ushered into the Roosevelt Room for what was expected to be simply a photo op. POTUS sat at the long wood table with 13 business leaders such as Google's Eric Schmidt and Jet Blue's David Barger (full list below). Behind POTUS: Browner, Rahm, Jarrett, Summers, in that order.
POTUS said he wanted to talk about something unrelated to the economy. "Can I make a comment unrelated to the economy" -- and launched into weather remarks (please check transcript): "My children's school was canceled today, because of what? Some ice," he said, and all at the table started laughing.
"As my children pointed out, in Chicago school is never canceled," he said, joking about how kids go out for recess on snow days. More laughter.
POTUS said he would have to instill "some flinty Chicago toughness" into Washingtonians.
"When it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things," POTUS said. Fighting words!
Pool then began to file out only to hear POTUS begin speaking in response to a question. He thanked leaders for coming and said they are "on the front lines" of the economy and have helped shape the stimulus.
"I'm confident we're going to get it passed," he said.
Attendees as released by the White House:
Steve Appleton, Chairman, President and CEO of Micron Technology; David Barger, CEO of Jet Blue; Greg Brown, President and Co-CEO of Motorola, Inc.; John Bryson, retired President and CEO of Edison International; David M. Cote, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell; Debra Lee, President and CEO of BET Holdings, Inc.; Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO of Xerox; Sam Palmisano, Chairman, CEO and President of IBM; Antonio Perez, Chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak Company; Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google; Michael Splinter with Applied Materials; Wendell Weeks, Chairman and CEO of Corning Incorporated; and Ron Williams, CEO of Aetna.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, will support the nomination of Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, despite being initially critical of his involvement in the pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. (New York Times)
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is considering rolling back oil shale drilling, made possible under President Bush, and strengthening a host of environmental laws. (Los Angeles Times)
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the world was breathing "a collective sigh of relief" now that President Obama's administration is beginning to dismantle Bush's foreign policies. (Los Angeles Times)
Despite Obama's initial outreach to the Muslim world, he still has a ways to go: American leadership is supported by just 15 percent of Middle Eastern and North African respondents in a Gallup poll released Tuesday. (NationalJournal.com)
Unhappy parents are threatening to sue a Virginia company that promised thousands of teens special access to inauguration events but ended up leaving some kids on buses or unsupervised during the big event. (Washington Post)
Under The Influence
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner tapped Mark Patterson, a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs, to be his chief of staff Tuesday. (Politico)
Geithner's move comes after Obama's administration issued new rules limiting contact with lobbyists. (AP)
Bill Clinton earned more than $4.7 million in speaking fees abroad last year, making his wife one of several Cabinet members who will have to "navigate potential conflicts in their new posts." (Wall Street Journal)
Dennis Blair, Obama's pick for director of national intelligence, took significant sums from companies doing defense business, the Senate intelligence committee revealed at his hearing Tuesday. (Washington Post)
William Lynn, Obama's pick for deputy Defense secretary, has deeper ties to Raytheon than originally thought, including an impending payout of as much as $1.25 million. (Politico)
Read more of National Journal's coverage of the lobbying industry in the blog Under The Influence.
Stimulus Wrangling
In an unusual move, Obama traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to meet with lawmakers and spoke to reporters from a Senate corridor, all of which made it seem like he was still a senator himself. (New York Times)
GOP lawmakers lauded Obama's conciliatory talk about the stimulus package Tuesday, but Republican votes are still lacking, with one aide saying his quest for GOP support is "like asking a lion to be a vegetarian." (Roll Call -- subscription)
A number of congressional Republicans used Twitter to blog about Obama's closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers Tuesday. (The Hill)
The bill pours $150 billion into education, which would "more than double" the department's current budget. (New York Times)
By AMY HARDER
Fresh on the heels of President Obama's exclusive interview with Arab TV network Al Arabiya, Gallup released a survey this afternoon showing respondents in the Middle East and North Africa giving U.S. leadership a dismal 15 percent approval rating.
In his interview on Arab TV, Obama emphasized the importance of reaching out to the Muslim world, and he has taken a series of actions toward this end -- addressing Muslims in his inaugural speech, issuing an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, and appointing George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke as special envoys to the Middle East.
Former Rep. Vin Weber, R-Minn., who recently contributed to a U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project report advising the new administration on how to improve relationships in the region, praised Obama for his appearance on Al Arabiya and dismissed Gallup's findings as premature.
"There are decades and decades of skepticism of the West ingrained in psyches in people of the Arab world, and that's not going to change on a dime simply because we have a new president," Weber said. "What we have is an opening, an opportunity to change the minds of people. And I think the president has taken the right first steps, and if they see that we're persistent and consistent, I think that we can slowly, over time, change minds."
Gallup pollsters also found that respondents in the region indicated their rating of the U.S. would improve if the country pulled out of Iraq. Weber, for his part, acknowledged that "the invasion itself resonates very badly" with Muslims, but insisted that withdrawing "precipitously" could lead to civil war, even regional war.
Also contributing to the U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project report was former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who recently spoke with NationalJournal.com about this and other foreign policy challenges Obama will face. Check Lost In Transition later this week for our full interview with Weber.
(Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
National Journal's Kirk Victor recently spoke with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who set out his concerns about the implementation of President Obama's order to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
Graham, who has served as a judge advocate and as a prosecutor, worries that closing the prison is the "easy" move, but the more difficult call is what to do with the approximately 245 prisoners there. Graham also voiced concern that the president will feel pressure from critics on the left who favor prosecuting George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and others from the previous administration as war criminals for approving brutal interrogation techniques. Edited excerpts follow.
NJ: Have any of President Obama's actions in his first days in office surprised you?
Graham: The one thing I am somewhat concerned about is executive orders on Guantanamo Bay. I support closing it. I support making sure that we have a process that restores our image in the world, but I do not support a plan that would criminalize the war. I think we can find a system, a rule of law called the Law of Armed Conflict, to deal with these detainees when they are brought to the United States. The point I am trying to make is that we are at war and the Law of Armed Conflict should apply, not domestic criminal law. I don't know where this is going to take us, but I am hopeful they will not create a system that restricts our ability to defend ourselves and not advance our moral standing at all.
NJ: What do you do with some of these prisoners who may not be prosecutable but are very dangerous?
Graham: That's the point. Some of them can be tried as war criminals, like [Khalid] Sheikh Mohammed. I think you try them in the military.... Some will be repatriated to third countries. Probably half of them are going to be kept in jail because they are part of al-Qaida. The evidence is not such you would submit [their cases] to a criminal court because of the sensitive nature of it, but we know they are part of the al-Qaida network and a judge agrees with the military that they are part of al-Qaida.You don't let those people go. You have a review process that keeps them in jail, constantly reviews their cases until they are no longer a threat. Sixty-one people have gone back to the fight after being released already.... Let me tell you -- closing Guantanamo Bay and moving them is the easy part. What to do with them is the hard part. We're talking about people who would kill us if they could.
NJ: Are you worried that Obama might be persuaded by critics on the left who want to pursue officials in the Bush administration who may have countenanced torture?
Graham: Yes, I am worried that the radical left who thinks that everybody at Guantanamo Bay is a victim and that Dick Cheney and George Bush are war criminals will have more sway [with the administration] than they deserve. But so far so good. I met with the administration on this issue.
NJ: Can President Obama withstand the pressure from the left on this issue?
Graham: This will be a good test. This is about a system that will render justice within our values, recognizing that we are at war. This is about a fresh start. If we're talking about prosecuting people because of political vendettas, then I think President Obama will have failed the test. If there is some competent evidence out there, somewhere, then that will be different, but this idea that policy disagreements lead to criminal [prosecution] will destroy our democracy. And I don't believe he is inclined to do that.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates will testify before Congress today and try to explain how the Obama administration will solidify security gains in Iraq, make strides in Afghanistan and close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay. (AP)
Key Senate Republicans won't delay the nomination of William Lynn for deputy Defense secretary, despite extensive lobbying contacts that fly in the face of Obama administration ethics rules. (CongressDaily)
President Obama dispatched his new special Middle East envoy George Mitchell to the region Monday in search of "progress, not just photo ops." (Los Angeles Times)
After Julius Genachowski reportedly turned down the chief technology officer position in favor of leading the Federal Communications Commission, questions are swirling about just how prestigious (and powerful) the CTO post will be. (Federal Computer Week)
Outgoing Symantec CEO John W. Thompson is on Obama's short list for Commerce secretary, a pick that would give Silicon Valley an ally in the White House. (Los Angeles Times)
The Senate has approved a bill that would delay the digital television transition by four months, a move Obama supports. (AP)
Obama isn't actually keeping his BlackBerry, but upgrading to a military-strength Sectéra Edge made by General Dynamics. (Federal Computer Week)
A congressional vote for D.C. "may not be a slam-dunk, but" Obama's one-on-one basketball games "with Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) suggest it is no longer a long shot, either." (The Hill)
Stimulus Wrangling
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are launching another charm offensive to win over GOP lawmakers on the stimulus package, but so far they aren't budging. (Roll Call -- subscription)
GOP lawmakers are expected to make the argument to Obama today that the stimulus is packed chock full of earmarks that he pledged to keep out of the spending bill. (Politico)
Critics allege that Obama's stimulus package won't work because it doesn't pump enough money into failing industries and sends money into ones not associated with the current meltdown. (Washington Times)
Rep. David Obey, D-Wisc., refuses to apologize for the stimulus package, which critics say he's using to pour money into his favorite programs. (New York Times)
The Energy Executive
Obama's aggressive energy policy is being undermined by geographic splits among Democrats, with lawmakers from California and the East Coast pushing renewables and politicians from the Midwest and Plains defending coal. (New York Times)
Obama's executive order allowing states like California to set their own emissions standards drew immediate fire from Republicans and the auto industry. (Wall Street Journal)
Mr. Geithner's Wild Ride
The Senate approved Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's nomination by a slim 60-34 margin, despite furor over his failure to pay past payroll taxes. (New York Times)
The administration is distancing itself from Geithner's statement that China is manipulating its currency, after the jab drew fire from the Chinese. (Wall Street Journal)
UPDATED.
The Senate voted to confirm Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary late this afternoon by a relatively narrow margin of 60-34, after a nomination process prolonged by revelations of unpaid payroll taxes. Among those voting nay were Democrats Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, as well as Tom Harkin of Iowa, who announced on the floor today that he was concerned not only about Geithner's tax issues but also about "his role in the current financial meltdown" as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Within hours after the vote, Geithner was sworn in at the Treasury Department by Vice President Joe Biden, with President Obama looking on. Obama said the expedited ceremony was necessary given the magnitude and urgency of the financial crisis. "Congratulations, Tim," he said. "You've got your work cut out for you."
Check back with Lost In Transition tomorrow for more on Geithner's confirmation.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Obama administration will reverse two last-minute agriculture decisions made by the Bush administration, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today in his first telephone news conference. The department will scrap a plan to pay for mandatory country-of-origin labeling with $3.2 million from a fruit and vegetable block grant program, and the public comment period on a farm subsidy payment limit rule has been extended for 60 days. It was due to expire Wednesday.
In other administration news, AP reports that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will name Todd Stern, the Clinton White House's top negotiator in the Kyoto Protocol talks, as a special envoy for climate change, according to U.S. officials.
Subscribers can read the full reports on the Agriculture Department moves and the Stern hiring at CongressDaily.
(Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
As former Federal Communications Commission chief Kevin Martin begins the next chapter in his career this week as a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, National Journal's Winter Casey spoke with him about what advice he would offer his FCC replacement and the key issues he anticipates the commission will be grappling with this year.
NJ: What advice would you like to give to whoever takes over as FCC commissioner?
Martin: I would tell them that they should make sure and look hard at the facts and the underlying arguments that are being made and -- while they will have whatever ideology they bring to the issues -- they should be prepared to actually examine the underlying facts and have it be more of a fact-based decision-making process as opposed to just an ideological one.
NJ: Is there anything in the telecommunications realm that needs to be changed that you think could move forward with bipartisan support this year?
Martin: I think that we need to make changes to our universal service mechanism to make sure that we move it from a voice-grade connections to broadband connections. We should make some more progress on cable rates -- cable rates have doubled over the last decade and I think consumers need relief in terms of additional choices and additional competition. And I think there needs to be a continued emphasis on how we make sure the regulatory environment provides an opportunity and incentive for people to invest in the infrastructure and at the same time maintain an open platform to any kinds of application or devices on the edge.
NJ: Will the new chief technology officer have any impact on what the FCC does?
Martin: I don't know. The FCC is at the bottom a creature of Congress and it's regulatory authority stems from Congress' authority. I am not sure that there can be an additional executive branch position that can have any direct impact on the commission because the commission is still an independent agency.
NJ: What issues do you think will be big ones in the next year for the FCC?
Martin: I think network neutrality will continue to end up being a big issue. I think media ownership will, and universal service.
NJ: Do you have a proudest achievement?
Martin: Finding that balance of making sure that you have incentives for people to invest in the network and have it open. But specifically... ushering in a wireless broadband world in which we had the two most successful auctions of wireless spectrum ever and at the same time we transformed the wireless industry so that it's more open to applications and devices.
By ALYSSA ROSENBERG, Government Executive
President Obama has appointed Kathie Ann Whipple, the deputy general counsel of the Office of Personnel Management, to head the agency on an acting basis, OPM announced on Friday.
"I am humbled to have been designated by President Obama to serve as the acting director of OPM, an agency it has been my pleasure to serve for the past eight years," Whipple said in a statement. "I look forward to leading OPM until the president appoints and the United States Senate confirms the next director."
Though Whipple's statement noted that her appointment was only temporary, it is not yet clear why Obama chose to appoint an acting director. It has been widely reported that John Berry, director of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, is the leading candidate to head OPM.
Obama has appointed a number of other officials to acting positions at federal agencies within the past several days. Late on Thursday, he named Stuart Ishimaru acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Christine Griffin to be acting vice chairwoman. Paul Prouty, a 38-year veteran of the General Services Administration, was appointed acting administrator of that agency, replacing Jim Williams. And midday on Friday, Dennis Taitano, acting associate administrator for operations and management at the Farm Services Administration, learned that Obama was named him as acting head of FSA.
By MARY GILBERT
In yet another dramatic break with the Bush administration, President Obama took to the TV cameras today to announce his administration's new approach to energy independence and greenhouse gas emissions. Calling energy central to both the economic crisis and America's national security priorities, Obama signed executive orders making it easier for states to set their own emissions standards, as well as pushing the American auto industry to build more fuel-efficient vehicles within the next several years.
Obama began by appealing to Congress to act quickly in passing his economic recovery package, which he said will get the ball rolling on creating a "new energy economy," generating thousands of new jobs. Money from the bill will go towards retrofitting government buildings to make them more energy-efficient, weatherizing about 2 million homes and creating other "green" jobs.
He also announced that he is directing the Environmental Protection Agency to review an application from California and 13 other states to create their own standards for automobile emissions and fuel efficiency. Offering a sharp rebuke of the previous administration, he chastised Washington for "standing in the way" as states tried to take the lead on this crucial issue. He pledged that his administration "won't deny facts" or try to pass the buck on creating incentives for energy efficiency.
Upping fuel standards in these states will require that the auto industry quickly retool to catch up, and the president pledged a comprehensive approach to helping car companies prepare for the future. "We must ensure that the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow are built here in America," Obama insisted, saying his administration would help set achievable fuel-efficiency standards for model year 2011. Referring to the recent bailout of GM and Chrysler, Obama said that the government must go beyond short-term assistance to the automakers. "We must help them thrive by building the cars of tomorrow and galvanizing a dynamic and viable industry for decades to come," he said.
Finally, Obama addressed the international community, signaling that other countries -- particularly developing nations like China and India -- will be expected to do their part on issues like climate change and energy efficiency, with the U.S. setting the standard. "It is time for America to lead because this moment of peril must be turned into one of progress," he urged.
Conversation on this Sunday's political talk shows centered mainly on the proposed stimulus legislation and President Obama's executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison within a year.
President Obama announced on Friday that he intends to nominate Jane Holl Lute as Homeland Security Department deputy secretary. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also named Noah Kroloff as her chief of staff for policy and Jan Lesher as chief of staff for operations.
Lute is currently U.N. assistant secretary-general and has served under two presidents on the National Security Council staff at the White House. Both Kroloff and Lesher served under Napolitano while she was governor of Arizona.
President Obama's White House is increasingly looking like the "West Wing on steroids," with policy power placed in the hands of a half-dozen key advisers -- not in the Cabinet. (Politico)
Obama will direct the Environmental Protection Agency to review California's application to enforce stricter auto emission standards, a clear break from the Bush administration. (New York Times)
Obama aides have created the group "Organizing for America" to tap the Web activism that helped elect him president. (New York Times)
Vice President Joe Biden admitted that his new role means he'll need to hold his tongue more than he has in the past. (Politico)
Richard Holbrooke, Obama's envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, earned the nickname the "Balkans Bulldozer" while hammering out the Dayton Peace Accords, but solving the Pakistan problem may be an even tougher challenge. (Time)
Dennis Blair, Obama's nominee for director of national intelligence, said that intelligence agencies ought to look for ways to help install or support leaders friendly to American interests. (Washington Post)
The president and first lady appear determined not to let life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue impede their tradition of Friday night dates. (AP)
Confirmation Games
While he chose his Cabinet in record time, Obama begins his second week as president without Treasury, Labor, Health and Human Services or Commerce secretaries -- or an attorney general. (Wall Street Journal)
Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner's delayed confirmation has also slowed his ability to put together a "crisis team." (Wall Street Journal)
Labor and environmental activists aren't too keen on Cass Sunstein, Obama's pick for regulatory czar, whose academic work has been "dedicated to calculating the dollar value of every regulation." (Los Angeles Times)
Stimulus Wrangling
Obama's $825 billion stimulus package is facing real resistance from congressional Republicans, who want to see more tax cuts and less spending. (New York Times)
Republicans fear that tens of billions of dollars in education funding in the stimulus package will become permanent fixture in the budget. (AP)
The National Endowment for the Arts is hoping to get an infusion of funds as part of the bailout package, with one lobbyist arguing that "the artist's paycheck is every bit as important as the steelworker's paycheck or the autoworker's paycheck." (New York Times)
Obama has been a "one-man stimulus" package for Washington already, and city institutions from Howard University to Ben's Chili Bowl hopes it continues. (Politico)
Lobbying 44
Lobbyists aren't getting much love from the new administration, whose strict ethics guidelines will keep most K Street players out of public service. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Meanwhile, William Lynn, a former lobbyist for Raytheon, has skirted those new ethics guidelines, but for good reason, his supporters say. (Politico)
By DAVID HERBERT
Three days after the Purple Tunnel of Doom KO'd the inaugural dreams of thousands of Obama supporters, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, head of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, is talking reparations.
The California Democrat announced this morning that the aggrieved parties will be getting packets of commemorative programs and glossy photos of the president and vice president to make up for the long lines and faded dreams. But that may not be enough, some purple ticket holders say.
Stuart Hess works part-time at a Dunkin' Donuts in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The 35 year-old cut back his hours to volunteer for Obama's campaign and then worked overtime to afford the bus fare to D.C. -- all to stand in the Third Street tunnel from 4 a.m. onwards watching people vomiting and defecating.
"I feel robbed," Hess said. "I believe proper reparations would be a handshake from President Obama, a thanks for my hard work, and an apology for what I sacrificed."
Time hasn't healed these wounds either. The Facebook group "Survivors of the Purple Tunnel of Doom" boasts more than 4,600 members, is attracting dozens of new registrants every hour and has more than 1,200 posts from angry ticket holders.
At the Washington Post's inauguration blog, the plurality of voters in a running Internet poll believe a dinner at the White House would be the best way to compensate those who couldn't use their passes.
Mauro De Lorenzo, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, thinks a special event with the president for himself and other aggrieved ticket holders would be nice, but he's also concerned that future events revolve less around security and more around openness.
"Major national civic rituals can't be declared to have achieved their purpose just because a bomb [didn't go] off," De Lorenzo wrote in an e-mail to NationalJournal.com. "I'm less concerned about someone being 'held accountable' than in seeing real discussion about how we're going to integrate civics and security better in the future."
By AMY HARDER
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright praised President Obama for the executive order he signed today that lifts restrictions on federal funding for groups that provide abortion services around the world.
The prohibition, known as the "Mexico City Policy," restricts the U.S.'s ability to engage constructively with other countries, Albright said. Reversing it, she added, is "a very big deal because the big issues internationally have to do with the health of women and on, generally, the right of people to choose what they want to do, having information."
Albright sees this executive order as a promising sign that the Obama administration will work to improve the country's global relations: "In many developing countries there is huge population pressure, so it is another signal that [the U.S. is] rejoining the international community."
The policy has teetered along party lines since its inception in 1984 under Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton rescinded the rule in 1993, only to have George W. Bush reinstate it in 2001.
Secretary Clinton's Global Sway
Albright, who became the first female secretary of State during the Clinton administration, also offered a few words of wisdom for the woman now at the helm of that same department. "First of all, being secretary of State of the United States is one of the most all-time great jobs representing this country," Albright said. "She is in a position to be a partner in terms of reformulating American foreign policy. That is going to be very important."
Continue reading Albright Backs Reversing 'Mexico City Policy,' Offers Clinton Advice.
By DAN FRIEDMAN, CONGRESSDAILY
The nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., to become Labor secretary in the Obama administration hit a snag Thursday, as Democrats announced that a Republican senator was using an anonymous hold to delay her confirmation over political concerns.
According to GOP aides, the hold was filed because of Solis' support for card-check legislation and backing for a pay-discrimination measure, and because of what they called her nonresponsive answers during a committee hearing regarding her nomination. Her backing of those issues puts her in good stead with Democrats but at odds with most Republicans.
"They're all radioactive issues that she is going to have to get involved in pretty deeply," one GOP aide said. The hold, if not lifted, would delay Solis from winning Senate confirmation once her nomination clears the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Solis is the latest Obama nominee to hit at a roadblock thrown up by Republicans whose objections are based on sensitive political matters. Most of the delays, such as the one involving Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have been lifted quickly. Holds that were placed against Lisa Jackson, Obama's choice to head the EPA, and Nancy Sutley, his pick for chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, were lifted Thursday.
Those two were confirmed Thursday evening by unanimous consent, along with nominees who were not held up by Republicans -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro.
By MARY GILBERT
President Obama has signaled in his first week of office that his administration is serious about doing away with some of the most controversial policies of President George W. Bush and about making government more transparent. One agency whose credibility has been battered over the last eight years is the Justice Department, where allegations of politicization under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have now been confirmed by the agency's inspector general [PDF].
To help him restore the department's good standing and sort through the legal complexities surrounding the war on terror and other pressing issues, Obama on Thursday named several sub-Cabinet appointees to support his chosen Attorney General, Eric Holder (who is still awaiting confirmation from Congress).
David Kris, currently deputy counsel for Time Warner Inc. and an adjunct law professor at Georgetown University, has been selected as the assistant attorney general for national security. A top Justice official under both President Clinton and Bush, Kris has a great deal of experience dealing with Congress and with the National Security Council, and has been a vocal critic of warrantless wiretapping.
San Francisco attorney and former federal prosecutor Tony West is Obama's choice to lead the department's civil division. West played a key role in successfully busting a large Internet child pornography ring several years ago and was an early Obama booster, helping to raise nearly $65 million for the then-candidate in California.
To head up the criminal division, Obama has chosen Lanny Breuer, a successful private practice lawyer who represented Clinton during his impeachment trial. AP reports that, in an interesting twist, Breuer, who represented Roger Clemens in hearings last year over allegations of steroid use, will now be in charge of the agency investigating the baseball star.
And finally, Christine Varney, a former Federal Trade Commission member who has represented corporations like Ebay and MySpace in her private practice, has been selected as assistant attorney general for antitrust. With a reputation as an effective negotiator, Varney has considerable experience in oversight of the tech and health care industries.
The appointees' full bios, per the transition team, are available after the jump.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
New York Gov. David Paterson has chosen Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the vacancy left by the appointment of former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Democratic sources said. A formal announcement is expected around noon.
Gillibrand's selection caps more than two months of jockeying for the seat by more than a dozen contenders -- including several House members -- and comes less than a day after Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy, withdrew from contention for "personal" reasons.
The 42-year old Gillibrand, an attorney by profession, will become the youngest member of the Senate.
With Paterson, who succeeded to the governorship last year following the resignation of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in the wake of a sex scandal, facing re-election in 2010, Gillibrand's selection reflects the governor's desire to balance the statewide Democratic ticket with a woman and a person from New York's upstate region.
Gillibrand's resume includes a stint working for Cuomo while the latter was HUD secretary in the administration of former President Bill Clinton.
Read Gillibrand's Almanac of American Politics profile here.
By CORINE HEGLAND
(Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
With a few strokes of the pen Thursday morning, President Obama toppled most of his predecessor's dilapidated framework for handling prisoners from the war on terrorism. The final vestiges of "enhanced" interrogations and secret prisons, both already shrunk from their post-9/11 heyday by court order and congressional action, were swept away by an executive order putting the entire U.S. government under the interrogation standards of the U.S. Army Field Manual and prohibiting the CIA from operating detention facilities.
"It is a blanket repudiation of the Bush approach," said Elisa Massimino, the CEO and executive director of Human Rights First. She pointed in particular to the order's effective overruling of all legal advice on interrogations issued between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 29, 2009, saying it "wipes away all of the barnacles that the Bush administration had accumulated over the legal standards."
A second executive order ensures that the last 250 or so detainees in Guantanamo Bay, all that remains of the approximately 770 prisoners who have been there since January 2002, will depart the island within the next 12 months. After individual case reviews, some of the detainees will go home; some, who face the possibility of torture at home, will settle in third countries; some will be prosecuted, and some may well continue their indefinite detention as enemy combatants in prisons on the soil of the continental United States.
"We are not," Obama said as he signed the orders amidst beaming retired military officers, "going to continue with a false choice between our safety and our ideals."
The slew of orders leaves quite a few questions unanswered: What, for example, will happen to prisoners like Mohammed al-Qahtani, whose torture at American hands makes prosecution difficult, but whose alleged role in the 9/11 hijacking makes his release dangerous? What about people like the Uighurs, who pose no security risk but face almost-certain persecution if they are returned to China? Or to the detainees without al-Qaeda connections whose low potential risk could be mitigated by rehabilitation and surveillance, if their countries had programs for such things?
On the other hand, none of the questions raised by Obama's executive orders are new. Over the past two years, they were all fiercely debated inside the Bush administration, which wanted to close Guantanamo, too. Obama's signatures Thursday morning simply commit him to mustering the political will necessary to find the solutions that eluded Bush.
His initial steps toward finding that solution garnered swift support from an unlikely source later that day as his former White House rival, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., issued a joint statement with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "Numerous difficult issues remain," the Republican pair noted, but "we support President Obama's decision to close the prison at Guantanamo, reaffirm America's adherence to the Geneva Conventions and begin a process that will, we hope, lead to the resolution of all cases of Guantanamo detainees."
CORRECTION: The original version of this post misstated the date of Obama's executive orders.
With a few strokes of his pen, President Obama effectively ended the "war on terror" Thursday by sweeping away many of George Bush's hallmark (and controversial) programs. (Washington Post)
Obama tapped former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell Thursday as his Mideast envoy, while Ambassador Richard Holbrooke will become the president's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. (NationalJournal.com)
Obama is toeing the Bush administration line in a controversial wireless eavesdropping case. (Wired)
After eight years of watching their stature decline, career hands at the State Department hope Hillary Rodham Clinton and her new team can turn things around. (Time)
The White House press corps' frustration at the administration's opacity took up a large chunk of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' first briefing Thursday. (Politico)
Obama will be able to keep his beloved BlackBerry, Gibbs also announced Thursday. (Los Angeles Times)
Nomination Wrangling
Dennis Blair, Obama's pick for director of national intelligence, argued at his confirmation hearing Thursday that some interrogation tactics must be kept secret. (Washington Times)
Still, Blair stressed that torture is "not moral, legal or effective" and vowed to stamp out the use of waterboarding in interrogations. (Washington Post)
The Obama administration will more vigorously oppose China's currency "manipulation," Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner signaled at his confirmation hearing Thursday. (New York Times)
Name Game
Government watchdogs want Obama to withdraw the nomination of William Lynn, a former Raytheon lobbyist, for deputy secretary of Defense because they believe he is violating the president's new ethics mandate. (Federal Computer Weekly)
Internet-law expert Christine Varney, Obama's pick for Justice Department anti-trust chief, is expected to "file more cases against companies that use market dominance to raise prices than" her predecessor. (Wall Street Journal)
Inauguration Conflagration
Obama is the seventh president to retake the oath of office, and he is also not the first to take the oath without a Bible. (Washington Post)
Move over Milli Vanilli: the sounds coming from Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman's instruments Tuesday were pre-recorded -- the classical music version of lip-synching. (New York Times)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., sent a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Thursday expressing concern for the thousands of ticket holders who "were kept in the dark -- deprived of information -- as the hours passed and their hopes of seeing history in the making slipped away." (Roll Call -- subscription)
By MARY GILBERT
President George W. Bush ended his White House tenure by issuing a flurry of regulatory actions, many of which are considered questionable, if not offensive, by the left. While the Obama administration has already taken steps to freeze those rules still in the pipeline, the new president and Democratically-controlled Congress will have to decide how much time and effort they want to expend undoing what Bush has done and how they will go about rescinding rules they want to see wiped from the books.
At a press conference this afternoon at the Center for American Progress, Anne Joseph O'Connell, assistant professor of law at the University of California-Berkeley, presented a new report [PDF] analyzing data on federal rule-making between 1983 and 2008, focusing on transition periods. The study indicates that the spike in regulations coming in the final year, and particularly the last several months, of the Bush administration is typical of most outgoing presidents. That said, O'Connell noted that some steps taken by Bush's team were "unprecedented," in that they were designed specifically to make his regulations harder to overturn.
Also at the event, a report [PDF] from CAP's Reece Rushing and Rick Melberth and Matt Madia of OMB Watch was released, detailing some of Bush's "midnight" regulations and suggesting actions the Obama administration can take to block or undo them.
O'Connell, Reese, OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass, and Sally Katzen of the Obama-Biden Transition Project's Agency Review Working Group were on hand to discuss the results of both reports. They explained that rules proposed by the Bush administration but not yet in place for 60 days can be overruled by the Obama team. In fact, on his first day in office, Obama's White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel issued a memo [PDF] effectively establishing a "regulatory moratorium" so that all rules coming down the pipe could be suspended and reviewed by the new administration.
Regulations finalized before Jan. 20, however, cannot be done away "with the stroke of a pen." Either an entirely new rule must be made -- a process which takes several months -- Congress must intervene to overturn the rule, or it must be suspended through litigation. All of these options will take time and resources to complete and, at a time when Obama and congressional Democrats already face huge threats on the domestic and international fronts, both are in short supply.
After more than 35 years in government -- as a career official at the Office of Management and Budget and director of the White House Office of Administration under President Clinton -- Frank Reeder built on his information security and public management expertise by founding a consulting company, The Reeder Group.
He's continued to share his knowledge as a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and as a principal of the nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government. But this past fall, he took on a new challenge -- serving as a member of Barack Obama's agency review team for OMB.
Reeder spoke with Government Executive staff correspondent Alyssa Rosenberg on Wednesday. Edited excerpts follow.
GE: What made this transition different from others you've experienced?
Reeder: My sense is this was a dramatically different transition for I think three reasons. Number one, these are extraordinary times. The administration had to be ready go, not simply take the honeymoon period to look around and see what needed to be done.The second reason was the incoming administration was an order of magnitude better prepared in two ways. One was a very clearly articulated agenda throughout the campaign. The only thing remotely comparable to that I experienced was the Reagan transition. There was a clear understanding of what the transition team wanted. The principals understood key things like who are the key appointments to make [and] the talent bank was well under way, which allowed them to do things in November that normally don't happen until December.
The third factor -- and the last time I can remember anything approximating this might have been in 1960-61 -- was a set of public expectations and good feelings that [Obama] was a candidate who said he wanted to make government cool again, as opposed to [Ronald Reagan] who said in his inaugural that government isn't the solution, it's the problem.
[In addition, President] Bush said to his administration on Nov. 5, "I want you to cooperate." He said it like he meant it. It's one advantage of having a well-disciplined administration. By golly, they cooperated. The agencies I worked with were, with minor exceptions, extraordinarily cooperative. The appointees got out of the way [and] made it possible for the transition team to interact directly with the career staff.
Continue reading Transition Adviser Looks Back On The Process.
By DAVID HERBERT
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs held his first White House briefing this afternoon, taking pointed questions on a range of issues, from President Obama's second oath of office and the executive pay freeze to Iran and the impending closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison.
The biggest news out of Gibbs' debut presser -- which The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder graded a B+ -- is that President Obama will receive morning economic briefings, much like the daily intelligence briefings he already receives. Those daily reports will produced by his economic team, led by National Economic Council Director Larry Summers. Gibbs also explained earlier reports that the president will be able to keep his beloved BlackBerry, though his e-mails will likely be subject to the Presidential Records Act.
This was also the White House press corps' first chance to probe Gibbs for weaknesses, and they took shots where they could. Chuck Todd, NBC's chief White House correspondent, pressed Gibbs on why no outside photographers were allowed to attend Wednesday's second oath of office and whether the president would be re-signing yesterday's executive orders (he will not). Another reporter asked if Obama will lead by example by taking a pay cut (Gibbs will ask).
Gibbs also made his first official gaffe as press secretary. White House Counsel Greg Craig had earlier given a background press conference on Obama's decision to shutter Guantanamo Bay prison, information that was to be attributed only to "a senior administration official." But, as was pointed out in the presser, Gibbs twice referred to that official as "Greg," all but identifying him as the source.
The flub, the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny argued, "raises a question: Does an administration that has pledged to be the most open and transparent one ever really need to have routine briefings be on background, by an official who can't be named?"
Amy Harder contributed to this report.
President Obama joined Vice President Joe Biden and newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department this afternoon to stress his commitment to reinvigorating America's diplomatic efforts and to introduce two new emissaries to deal with some of the most pressing foreign policy issues facing his administration -- the Middle East and the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell has been named Obama's special envoy to the Middle East. As President Clinton's special envoy to Northern Ireland in the 1990s, Mitchell played a central role in the negotiations that resulted in the Good Friday Agreement, an experience which he said today taught him that there is no such thing as a conflict that cannot be ended.
Obama's appointee as special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, helped broker the Dayton Peace Accords between warring factions in Bosnia in 1995 and also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. from 1999-2001. Holbrooke said today that, while the U.S. understands that Pakistan is far more than the "turbulent" tribal region on its border with Afghanistan, the two countries are now so closely intertwined that they cannot be dealt with separately from one another.
Both appointees, as well as Obama and Clinton, stressed the difficulty of the challenges facing them, but pledged their best to achieving a lasting peace in the Middle East and a more effective campaign to root out terrorists and extremists along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border.
Updated: The Washington Post has the transcript of remarks by Obama, Clinton, Mitchell and Holbrooke.
The Senate Finance Committee today easily approved Timothy Geithner's nomination to become Treasury secretary, but only after asserting that his failure to pay his taxes years ago could have disqualified him if his leadership at Treasury were not needed to deal with the financial crisis. The committee voted 18-5 to send Geithner's nomination to the full Senate for a vote next week. Republican committee members again voiced concerns that Geithner, who would oversee the IRS as Treasury Secretary, failed to pay all of his taxes between 2000 and 2004 while he worked at the International Monetary Fund and repaid the full $34,000 when he was being considered for the Cabinet post.
The complete story is available to CongressDaily subscribers.
By CHRIS STROHM, CongressDaily
(Credit: Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images)
Faced with pointed, politically charged questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee, President Obama's nominee to lead the nation's intelligence apparatus today said he backs standards for interrogating terrorism suspects but would not say whether he believes the practice of waterboarding is torture.
Retired Navy Adm. Dennis Blair, nominated to be director of national intelligence, said during his confirmation hearing he did not want to place intelligence professionals in legal jeopardy by saying that waterboarding -- under which suspects are choked with water to compel them to answer questions -- is torture. As Blair was testifying, Obama signed executive orders requiring intelligence agencies to use the Army Field Manual in carrying out interrogations and ordering a review of detainee policy.
The complete story is available to CongressDaily subscribers.
President Obama is settling his family into the White House, issuing executive orders left and right, and ensuring his Cabinet nominees are confirmed smoothly by the Senate. On the face of it, that's how Obama is spending his first few days as commander in chief. What else should the freshly sworn-in president be doing this week and next? Jeremy Mayer, director of the George Mason University public policy master's program, spoke with NationalJournal.com's Amy Harder and offered some speculation. Mayer is an expert in media politics, foreign policy and other presidential topics. Edited excerpts follow.
Q. What is unique about how the Obama administration has handled these past few days compared to past presidents?
Mayer: As far as the first two days of this administration, they have had triumph of image, which is important. One of the other tasks of the first week of an administration is to start the honeymoon well. If you want to carry a metaphor way beyond where it should go, if this is the honeymoon period and America is the bride and Obama the husband, we're checking into the honeymoon hotel this first week, and you don't want logistical problems.... The image that has been conveyed is crucial. He has done a very good job of making sure that the pictures that go across and the message that comes out are very positive and uplifting and patriotic. I think you have to go back to [Ronald] Reagan's inaugural to find one that has been this successful. That has really attracted the attention of the nation.
Q. What's the most important aspect of a president's few days on the job?
Mayer: The most important thing you can do is avoid mistakes. Do nothing that gets you off message. The classic early-days mistake is [Bill] Clinton and his statements about gays in the military, which was not in his top three priorities. The preparation for that issue had not been done with the military leadership. And so, even in the late transition and early days, it just created such a distraction.
You also are still working in these days to get your nominees through the Senate. And, the work that you did on vetting in the last two months is now shown to be good or bad. So, you've seen presidencies like George Bush the elder's torn up by things like the [John] Tower nomination [as Defense secretary], where you expend a lot of political capital whether you win or lose. So, a tough Senate vote in these first few days is a bad sign, or nominees going down in flames like Zoe Baird [Clinton's first choice for attorney general].
Q. How are the confirmation hearings of Obama's Cabinet choices going?
Mayer: You could say that the best decision Obama has made so far is pulling the plug on [Commerce nominee Bill] Richardson. As bad as [Timothy] Geithner and [Eric] Holder and [Hillary Rodham] Clinton are getting it -- and they're not getting it very bad -- Richardson would have been a bloodbath. And I don't know if it was Richardson's side or the Obama side that recognized this, but they pulled the plug. Right away. They made a mistake in not realizing how serious the investigation was, but they made a good decision to stop the bleeding right away.
By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily
(Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
Speculation on who might fill USDA subcabinet posts is intensifying on Capitol Hill and among lobbyists, but Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he would not discuss any personnel matters until they are announced.
After being sworn into office by Vice President Joe Biden, Vilsack told reporters in his office at USDA that he and his staff "are going to take our time" in selecting appointees. Vilsack said he thinks "it's unfortunate there are those who would speculate on [who is going to hold] positions."
The names of three Vilsack aides have been posted on a chart of top personnel in the entrance to the USDA administration building.
They are John Norris, a former Iowa Democratic Party leader and chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board, as chief of staff; Carole Jett, a former Natural Resources and Conservation Service official who retired and contributed money and time to the Obama campaign, as deputy chief of staff; and David Lazarus, a former aide to Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and key Obama rural campaign director, as special assistant.
Meanwhile, a House Agriculture Committee member and a key Senate aide said they believe Chuck Hassebrook, executive director for the Center for Rural Affairs, is a top candidate for deputy secretary.
President Obama this morning took the first step toward fulfilling his campaign pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison, signing three executive orders and a memorandum to close the facility, alter Bush-era interrogation guidelines and appoint an interagency task force to advise the White House on what to with detainees. The president signed the order surrounded by Vice President Joe Biden and no fewer than 16 retired generals and admirals.
In an award-winning package of stories, National Journal investigated how some Guantanamo detainees had come to be there and what would be required to close the prison, tracing the story of Farouq Ali Ahmed, a young Yemeni man handed over to U.S. intelligence by Pakistan.
Another cover story, "Guantanamo, The Day After," examined the legal and practical problems involved in shutting down the prison.
Check back later this afternoon for more on Obama's next steps on Guantanamo.
Complete text of the release is available after the jump.
Continue reading Obama Signs Orders To Close Guantanamo, Change Interrogation Tactics.
Barack Obama's first public act as president went over well in the eyes of NationalJournal.com's poll of top political bloggers. Asked to grade Obama's inauguration speech, left-leaning bloggers gave, on average, an A-; right-leaning bloggers were more mixed, giving a B-.
"Not a stemwinder, but a speech to savor," said Mark Kleiman of The Reality-Based Community, one of two left-leaning bloggers to give the speech an A+. On the right, David Kopel of The Volokh Conspiracy gave Obama a B, saying, "Excellent use of history, combined with solid patriotism for the 21st century. Some of his policy ideas, including the prominence of the global warming issue, bode ill for America's economic future."
NationalJournal.com also asked experts on presidential rhetoric to dissect Obama's speech. They offered their takes on how Obama's speech compared to his others, how it compared to previous inaugural addresses and what passages will prove most enduring.
"By allowing his middle name, Hussein, to be used in the oath of office, and by his extension of this verbal olive branch, the new president seemed to be signaling to the Muslim world that their concerns will not be ignored by the new administration," former Clinton speechwriter Terry Edmonds wrote in an e-mail. Ted Sorensen, a speechwriter and top aide to President Kennedy, summed up the scene: "I believe any objective measurement would show that the excitement and enthusiasm... was even greater than it was 48 years ago for the Kennedy inauguration."
(Credit: Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
In a Poolitzer Prize first, Wes Allison of the St. Petersburg Times has snagged his second award for one day's work thanks to his reporting on President Obama's second swearing-in Wednesday night. More than 1.8 million spectators watched Chief Justice John Roberts bungle the wording of the oath of office, but Allison was one of a handful lucky enough to see the just-in-case ceremony.
The winning pool report, edited only for clarity, follows:
At 7:35 p.m., Roberts administered the oath of office again to Obama in the Map Room. Robert Gibbs said the White House Counsel, Greg Craig, believes the oath was fine Tuesday, but one word was out of sequence so they did this out of a "an abundance of caution."
"We decided it was so much fun," Obama joked while sitting on a couch.
Obama stood and walked over to make small talk with pool as Roberts donned
his black robe.
"Are you ready to take the oath?" Roberts asked.
"I am, and we're going to do it very slowly," Obama replied.
Oath took 25 seconds. After a flawless recitation, Roberts smiled and said, "Congratulations, again."
Obama said: "Thank you, sir."
Smattering of applause.
"All right," Obama said. "The bad news for the pool is there's 12 more balls."
President Obama is set to sign executive orders today calling for the shutdown of the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. But in a recent interview with NationalJournal.com's Mary Gilbert, the Brookings Institution's Benjamin Wittes explained that closing Guantanamo is more complicated than simply shuttering the doors: The new administration must decide what to do with the approximately 250 prisoners still held there, as well as lay out a policy for what the U.S. should do with future "enemy combatants" captured on the battlefield of the war on terror.
Read the complete interview here. Edited excerpts follow. Visit the archives page for more Insider Interviews.
NJ: Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have both advocated closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, yet it will still be open when Barack Obama is inaugurated. Why has shuttering Guantanamo been so difficult?Wittes: If it were easy, it would've happened already.... It hasn't happened because there are some significant and profound obstacles to doing it. And broadly speaking, they are the following: One, a certain group can't be sent home who we would like to send home, and other countries won't take them.... Two, we have so far failed as a political and legal culture to create a trial system that has shown itself capable of handling more than a small number of these people in a criminal process. Three, irrespective of how effective our trial system is, there is probably some group of people there who are too dangerous to release and against whom a criminal case is not plausible. And four, if you bring detainees to the United States, you lose the benefit, as a government, of certain legal arguments that currently inhibit the release of detainees into the general population of the United States....
If you take those things together, you have a pretty significant set of barriers, some of which... you can work through and some of which it's less clear how easily you can work through.
NJ: How long will it take for the new administration to close Guantanamo? What is a realistic time frame?
Wittes: I assume that most people, when they say "close Guantanamo" they're using it as a proxy.... They're talking about ending a certain approach to detentions in the war on terrorism and replacing it with something. They're talking about something a little bit more grandiose and significant than simply moving people from one detention site to another.... And I don't even know how to talk about it in terms of a time frame. You talk about it in terms of a list of things that you would have to get done, a list of tasks, a process, a bunch of issues that you would have to sort through.
"Out of an abundance of caution," Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to President Obama for a second time after Roberts botched the wording Tuesday. (Chicago Tribune)
Obama is "ready to issue orders" today to close the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay and "overhaul the treatment of terrorism suspects." (Washington Post)
Obama's $825 billion stimulus package may not provide as much short-term relief as originally planned, leading some GOP lawmakers to call for more tax cuts to be included in the bill. (Wall Street Journal)
Obama began meeting with military brass and civilian officials Wednesday to assess the ground situation in Iraq and contemplate a hastier withdrawal than is currently planned. (Army Times)
While the gay community is elated, some troops are wary of Obama's promise to end the "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military. (Reuters)
Among his first executive decisions, Obama froze his senior staff's pay, loosened access to government files and tried to limit lobbyist influence on his administration. (NationalJournal.com)
After running the most tech savvy campaign in history, Obama's team entered the White House to discover technology infrastructure so outdated that one staffer compared it to "going from an Xbox to an Atari." (Washington Post)
Settling into their new White House offices is a challenge, and on Wednesday staffers celebrated small victories like new notebooks. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Name Game
Obama has tapped former Sen. George Mitchell as his Mideast envoy, an appointment that follows a round of phone calls to the main players in the region. (New York Times)
Hillary Rodham Clinton was confirmed as secretary of State Wednesday after a one-day delay by Republican lawmakers. (Los Angeles Times)
Republican senators took Timothy Geithner to task Wednesday over his failure to pay payroll taxes, though the Treasury secretary-designate is expected to slip through the confirmation process anyway. (New York Times)
Republicans also stalled a vote on Obama's pick for attorney general, Eric Holder, Wednesday as they seek more detail on his position on torture. (Reuters)
Inauguration Conflagration
Estimates of Tuesday's crowd size are settling on 1.8 million, making it the largest gathering on the Mall in history. (Washington Post)
The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies has apologized to the several thousand ticket holders who were shut out of Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony. (Politico)
Those ticket holders aren't the only ones up in arms about their treatment on Jan. 20: after hundreds of Youth Ball attendees were shut out of the main ballroom Tuesday night, the Presidential Inauguration Committee is considering how to compensate them. (NationalJournal.com)
HBO says its failure to broadcast Rev. Gene Robinson's invocation at the Lincoln Memorial concert Sunday was the result of "miscommunication within the Presidential Inauguration Committee." (The Advocate)
Americans gave Obama high marks for the inauguration ceremony and his speech, according to polls released Wednesday. (NationalJournal.com)
By KEVIN FRIEDL and MICHELLE WILLIAMS
Barack Obama has made it clear that he intends to bring with him to the White House the same online organizing and messaging tools he used so successfully during the campaign. That's made some in Washington nervous, and with good reason. No candidate had ever marshaled supporters as effectively, and no president has entered office with such a network so firmly intact. The following is one imagined scenario of how the Obama White House could use these tools to set the agenda in Washington.
Please offer your own scenarios in the comments section.
By AMY HARDER
According to a USA Today/Gallup poll out today, 62 percent of respondents echoed one of the primary buzzwords of the campaign, telling pollsters they were more hopeful following President Obama's inaugural ceremony. That's nearly 20 percentage points more than the poll recorded immediately following George W. Bush's second inauguration in 2005.
An Associated Press/Knowledge Networks poll [PDF], conducted in part online, echoed Gallup's findings. A full seven in 10 respondents said the inauguration made them feel hopeful. Not surprisingly, Democrats felt more positive about the inauguration than Republicans. It wasn't all fun and games for the winning party, though. While only 6 percent of GOP members felt overwhelmed, nearly a quarter of Democrats said they felt that way.
Former presidential speechwriters contacted by NationalJournal.com after Obama's address generally gave him high marks on his performance, a judgment the public seemed to share. More than 90 percent of those polled by AP and just over 80 percent in the Gallup rated the new president's speech as either good or excellent.
By DAVID HERBERT
Security brought in metal barricades to keep the overflow Youth Ball crowd at bay at the Hilton Washington on Tuesday night. (Credit: David Herbert)
The hundreds of inaugural Youth Ball ticket holders who were shut out of the main ballroom at the Hilton Washington on Tuesday night for "safety reasons" may yet get justice, according to President Obama's inauguration committee.
"As sometimes happens at large events, a determination was made by the fire marshal to temporarily stop letting people into the ballroom for safety reasons," said Presidential Inauguration Committee spokeswoman Melanie Roussell. "We are in the process of determining a response to ticketed guests who were unable to attend."
Roussell declined to say who might be eligible for restitution or what that might entail.
After the ballroom doors were closed, a crush of tuxedo-clad 20-somethings pushed forward to no avail, imitating soccer hooligans by cheering "Ole, Ole, Ole" and shouting down law enforcement officials, who repeatedly made clear that no one else would be getting in. At one point, officials brought in metal security gates to keep the crowd at bay.
Roussell insisted that the event was not oversold and said the 35,815-square-foot International Ballroom never reached capacity (it can hold as many as 4,200 guests). She declined to reveal how many tickets were distributed.
Unable to access the ballroom, hundreds of party-goers crowded around television screens in an adjacent lounge area to watch Kanye West and Kid Rock perform and see the president and first lady dance. The ball was also broadcast live on MTV.
The face value of Youth Ball tickets was $75, but some fetched as much as $1,000 on craigslist. While aggrieved Youth Ballers await recompense from the inauguration committee, a few collectors of political bric-a-brac are providing some salve with offers of $25 to $50 for inaugural ball ticket stubs.
Partygoers wait in vain to get into the main ballroom. (Credit: David Herbert)
The first couple showed off their new digs to 200 lucky people today in an open house this afternoon at the White House. You didn't happen to be one of those 200 people, huh? Well, neither were we. Luckily, pool reporter Wes Allison with the St. Petersburg Times does an entertaining and thorough job recounting the event for everyone. His detailed report has earned today's Poolitzer Prize:
Two-hundred people won passes on a first-come, first-serve basis through the PIC or transition (press aides not sure, checking) to attend an "Open House" at 2:30 p.m. today at the White House.
Your pool was ushered into the Blue Room, a south-facing oval room overlooking the Washington Monument, at 2:40 p.m., where we found President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama already shaking hands with guests lined up in a receiving line.
"Enjoy yourself," Obama told two young women.
"Welcome, enjoy yourself," Obama told a young man in a black sweater. "Roam around. Don't break anything."
Continue reading Obamas Meet And Greet In Open (White) House.
By MARY GILBERT
In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama today signed two Executive Orders and three Presidential Memoranda at a briefing in front of several dozen staff members at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, with the purpose of keeping his campaign promises to increase transparency and openness in government.
In a move that may take some of the new members of his administration by surprise, Obama announced that he is freezing the pay of his top White House staffers. He thanked those affected -- staffers making over $100,000 -- for their willingness to agree to the freeze, saying that it was a mark of their commitment to public service and a recognition of the tough economic times facing the country. "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," he said.
The new president is also setting new rules for lobbyists, saying as he did on the campaign trail that it's time to "close the revolving door" between the White House and K Street. "We need to make the White House the people's house," Obama said, mandating that lobbyists will be subject to stricter ethics restrictions under his administration than any other in history. The rules he put forth today establish a two-year window for lobbyists entering or exiting the administration. Lobbyists who go to work for Obama will "not be able to work on matters you lobbied on or in the agencies you lobbied during the previous two years," while anyone who leaves the administration will not be able to lobby the government for the duration of Obama's tenure in the White House.
Lobbyists are not the only ones facing new limitations, however. All of those who choose to serve under Obama's administration will be required to commit in writing to new ethics rules, the president revealed. And a strict ban on gifts from lobbyists has been set for all executive branch employees.
Obama went on to put government agencies on notice that his administration will take a new approach to the Freedom of Information Act. For too long, "there's been too much secrecy in this city," the president said, insisting that the government should live by the spirit -- not the letter -- of this law and make information available to the public whenever possible. He promised to follow the same standard himself, reiterating that "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency."
Obama acknowledged that the executive orders he signed today will not, on their own, make government as "honest" as it needs to be. But he expressed his hope that they would "mark the beginning of a new era of openness in our country" and increase public confidence in government. "That's a pretty good place to start," he concluded.
On his first morning as president, Barack Obama found time to address the still-unstable situation in Gaza, calling the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt, according to a statement from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. In conversations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, King Abdullah of Jordan and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, the president signaled that he would engage with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by supporting reconstruction efforts and working to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.
The move is notable for coming so early in Obama's term, something the White House statement is at pains to point out. His immediate predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, only turned their attention to the peace process further into their presidencies.
In an interview on ABC's "This Week" earlier this month, Obama declined to comment on Israel's invasion of Gaza, which had been prompted by Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel, but said he would take prompt action once in office. "What I am doing right now is putting together the team so that on January 20th, starting on day one, we have the best possible people who are going to be immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole," he said.
See the full statement after the jump:
By GEORGE E. CONDON JR., CongressDaily
After a day devoted to poetry, parades and pomp, President Obama gets down to business today.
His first full day in the Oval Office will be devoted to fulfilling campaign promises to begin the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, beef up U.S. forces in Afghanistan and step up White House involvement in the quest for peace in the Middle East. "You're going to see the president hit the ground running," promised White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
The day will begin with the president attending a National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral, a tradition begun by George Washington. Then he will turn to Iraq and one of the most powerful promises of his campaign, his pledge to give the Joint Chiefs of Staff "a new mission" on his first day in office to "end this war responsibly and deliberately but decisively."
When Obama made that promise in July it was much more contentious than it is today, when there is a consensus that withdrawal can be done under Obama's 16-month timetable. One sign of the importance of this meeting is that Gen. David Petraeus, the former Iraq commander who is now head of Central Command, will attend. Petraeus originally had been scheduled to participate by video.
Another area in which the new president promised to take action on "day one" was deepening White House involvement in the Middle East peace process. On that front, Obama is expected to name former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell as his envoy to the Middle East, reprising a role he played in Northern Ireland at the behest of President Bill Clinton.
Other promises might not be kept until later in the first week as the White House studies the ramifications of possible executive orders undoing actions taken by the Bush administration, clarifying the government's stand on torture or ordering the closing of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
Only hours after the inauguration, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel ordered all agencies to "stop all pending regulations until a legal and policy review can be conducted." That is to deal with any late changes made by the outgoing administration.
Obama also hopes to take symbolic steps today to signal his change from the Bush administration and commitment to openness.
Gibbs also told reporters to expect a directive from Obama dealing with the ethics of his appointees. "You'll see the president challenge his White House staff and the executive staff to a new set of rules and regulations regarding ethics and transparency," Gibbs told Fox News. "People that are serving in government are there to serve the people, not to turn around and go outside the revolving door and get a lobbying job."
Gibbs also said the president will meet with his economic team to "see where we are on getting an economic recovery and reinvestment plan." The president as well has to keep an eye on the House, which will vote today on a resolution to deny funding for the remaining $350 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The vote will be more for political optics than policy after the Senate rejected the proposal last week.
For Obama aides, the burst of activity has long been planned for the day they finally would be free of the "we only have one president at a time" mantra they were forced to chant almost every day since their election victory.
"I think that he's going to get off to the fastest start of any president that I've been observing for 50 years," said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution. "Partly, that is because the times demand action but also because he's had such an exceptionally good transition that he's had people in place early."
A trash can at the corner of Constitution and Virginia Aves. at 8:30 a.m. (left) and 2:00 p.m.
By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER
The Senate acted swiftly just hours after President Obama's inauguration ceremonies to confirm six of his Cabinet nominees as well as his budget director.
By unanimous consent, the Senate confirmed at 3:42 p.m. Tuesday the nominations of Obama's picks to lead the departments of Energy (Steven Chu), Education (Arne Duncan), Homeland Security (Janet Napolitano), Interior (Ken Salazar), Veterans Affairs (Eric Shinseki) and Agriculture (Tom Vilsack).
The Senate also confirmed Peter Orszag to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, a Cabinet-level post. With those seven approvals, Obama came close to matching President George W. Bush's record of moving seven of his nominees into their new posts in 2001 on the same afternoon he was sworn in.
Hillary Rodham Clinton's confirmation to be secretary of State was delayed by a day at the insistence of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who requested a roll-call vote on her nomination. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate will have three hours to debate Clinton's appointment Wednesday before they vote Wednesday afternoon.
"I expect her to be easily confirmed," Cornyn conceded during an interview. But he explained that he wanted to deny Clinton unanimous-consent affirmation on Inauguration Day so he could use a floor vote to "air my concerns" that Bill and Hillary Clinton have not been "transparent enough" about President Clinton's foundation fundraising from foreign nationals. Cornyn wants the Clintons to do "more work" to eliminate conflicts of interest.
"If it doesn't get handled now, then it probably won't get handled, so it's important to talk about it," he told National Journal.
Cornyn said GOP senators may seek to place a hold on the confirmation of Eric Holder to be attorney general, once Holder wins approval from the Judiciary Committee, which could happen Wednesday. Such a hold would carry Senate consideration over into next week.
As he departed the Capitol Tuesday, Cornyn said he had spoken to Hillary Clinton about his concerns, and explained that he hoped to win changes in the disclosure agreement worked out between President Clinton and the government, because she is the nation's "top diplomat." The former first lady told Cornyn she had agreed to unusual disclosures and accountability measures to make her husband's transactions more visible, and that she hoped that any additional steps the Senate seeks would not be "specific to her," Cornyn said. Their conversations, he added, were "cool and civil. She understands the concerns."
By AMY HARDER
While it may seem like Washington has fallen into an inauguration frenzy this past weekend, the transition team of freshly sworn-in President Obama has still been hard at work, churning out more appointments.
On Monday, key posts at the Office of Management and Budget were announced. Jeffrey Liebman, currently a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will be the OMB executive associate director. Preeta Bansal will be OMB's general counsel and senior policy adviser. She is currently a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in New York. Steve Kosiak will be associate director for defense and international affairs; he is currently vice president for Budget Studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Robert Gordon, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, will be associate director for education, income maintenance and labor. Xavier de Souza Briggs was announced as associate director for general government programs. He is currently a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kenneth Baer will be associate director for communications and strategic planning, after running his own communications consulting firm, Baer Communications, LLC.
On Friday, Obama announced a handful more White House staff positions, many of whom are stay-ons from his campaign. Danielle Crutchfield will continue as the president's official scheduler. Obama's campaign trip director, Marvin Nicholson, will also remain at his post. Emmett Beliveau will transition from his post as executive director and CEO of the Presidential Inaugural Committee to be Obama's director of advance. He also held this position during the campaign. Patrick Dillon will be deputy director of political affairs. Dillon has served as Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's chief of staff since 2006.
Their full bios, per the transition's press releases, are available after the jump.
By JAMES A. BARNES
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) was seen by reporters being taken by wheelchair out of Statuary Hall during a lunch there with members of Congress and President Obama, who expressed concern for the senator during his remarks.
"I know that while I was out of the room, concern was expressed about Teddy," he said. "He was there when the Voting Rights Act passed, along with John Lewis, was a warrior for justice, and so I would be lying to you if I did not say that right now a part of me is with him. And I think that is true for all of us. This is a joyous time, but it is also a sobering time. My prayers are with him and his family."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.), who was at the same table as Kennedy, was also removed from the hall by a medical team.
A congressional staffer who witnessed the event said Kennedy was "convulsing." Very quickly, the staffer said, a member of the Capitol Police stood up and called for medical attention for Kennedy, who was attended to and taken out in a wheelchair. Kennedy is suffering from brain cancer. The entire room stood and there was a moment of silence after Kennedy exited.
By MARY GILBERT
George W. Bush is officially in retirement, but for many Americans, seeing the end of the 43rd president's tenure is not enough. Even as a sense of jubilation grips Washington, D.C., some in the streets aren't ready to let go of their acrimony for the outgoing president, demanding legal action against Bush and his administration for their handling of the war on terror.
"Arrest Bush," read signs lining 7th Street, where throngs of visitors and D.C. residents flooded towards the Mall and Pennsylvania Avenue, route of this afternoon's inaugural parade. Several protesters stood atop vans decrying Bush's and Vice President Dick Cheney's "war crimes" and called for their immediate prosecution. Hours later, boos could be heard from some of the millions gathered in front of the Capitol as Cheney was introduced to the crowd.
The question of whether President Obama and congressional Democrats should pursue investigations of the Bush administration's war policy is generating great debate in Washington and, perhaps, threatens to divide the new president's electoral coalition.
"My instinct is for us to focus on how do we make sure that moving forward we are doing the right thing," Obama said Jan. 11 on ABC's "This Week," moderated by George Stephanopoulos. "That doesn't mean that if somebody has blatantly broken the law, that they are above the law," he added, "but my orientation's going to be to move forward."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a different message on "Fox News Sunday" this week, signaling that she and others on Capitol Hill are more eager to go after Bush administration officials. "I think that we have to learn from the past, and we cannot let the politicizing of the -- for example, the Justice Department, to go unreviewed," she said, adding: "Past is prologue. We learn from it."
One thing is for sure: Bush exits office with a tarnished image in the American public's eyes. Just 34 percent of those surveyed by Gallup this month said they approve of the job he has done as president, and 59 percent said that he will go down in history as a below-average or poor president.
By LUCAS GRINDLEY
As former President Bush flew out of Washington in a helicopter, his successor was already making changes -- starting with the White House Web site.
Sometime after Barack Obama officially became president, Change.gov began sending visitors to a new WhiteHouse.gov that "will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world," wrote the site's director, Macon Phillips, in an entry on the new site's official blog.
The site has a few bugs to iron out, with the e-mail sign-up page sending visitors to a contact form that produces an error message when completed. But Phillips promises that it will be the start to increased communication and transparency in the new administration.
The site pledges that "we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it" -- which would fulfill a promise Obama made during the campaign.
A section called "The Briefing Room" promises the most information, housing executive orders, video of addresses, and a tracking calendar of nominations and appointments.
Commentators in the major national newspapers have given the inauguration their undivided attention in today's columns.
"In the end, race is likely to be secondary in defining Obama's place in history," Eugene Robinson contends.
With the headline, "Wish you were here," Bob Herbert recalls civil rights figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and James Farmer, whom he wishes could witness today's inauguration.
Richard Cohen writes a narrative leading up to Obama's swearing-in, enumerating the challenges the incoming president will face.
Obama wasn't Jonah Goldberg's "first choice for president, but he is nonetheless my president. And if ever there were a wonderful consolation prize in politics, shattering the race barrier in the White House is surely it."
DeWayne Wickham recounts the last 18 months leading up to today.
In the Wall Street Journal, author John Steele Gordon notes that Obama will not only be the first black president, but also the first president "whose ethnic identity is not linked to the extreme northwest corner of Europe."
Anne Applebaum describes the US Airways Flight 1549 safe crash-landing in the Hudson River as the "anti-9/11" and puts it into context of today's historic inauguration.
In USA Today, former Archivist of the U.S. Allen Weinstein lays out what he believes it will take for Obama to deliver an inaugural address that effectively bridges "campaign poetry and governance prose."
In the Washington Post, blogger Heather Michon cautions that the "odds are long" that Obama will deliver a "speech for the ages, an oration worthy of being memorized by schoolchildren and carved into monuments."
In the Washington Times, Jay Ambrose, former Washington director of editorial policy for Scripps Howard News Service, suggests Americans take a "citizen's oath, similar in some ways to the oath promising that the new president will faithfully execute his office and defend and protect the Constitution."
Dana Milbank finds humor in Hollywood's descent on Washington.
By CONGRESSDAILY
The inaugural luncheon at the Capitol only dates back to President Dwight Eisenhower's first term in 1953, but this one, like so much else related to Barack Obama's moment, will have strong ties to President Abraham Lincoln.
All three courses are based on Lincoln's favorite foods -- a seafood stew including lobster, scallops and shrimp; a brace of American birds (pheasant and duck) with a sour cherry chutney; and apple cinnamon sponge cake. The wines are all from California -- a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, and a "special inaugural cuvee" California Champagne.
The luncheon is in the statuary and follows the swearing-in. Here's the timeline for don't-miss moments this morning. While the ceremony officially starts at 11:30 a.m., pay attention at 11:20 a.m. when President Bush and Vice President Cheney are announced and take their seats on the platform. Whether you're on the platform, on the Mall or watching on television, you'll be able to tell pretty quickly whether the boos will drown out the cheers. But five minutes later, when Obama is introduced, we're betting the noise will be louder than anything ever heard at a Redskins game. Other key moments: Aretha Franklin sings "My Country Tis of Thee" at 11:38 a.m., Vice President-elect Biden is sworn in at 11:46 a.m. and Obama takes the oath of office from Chief Justice Roberts 10 minutes later.
Inauguration Day has arrived. And media outlets everywhere are in full frenzy mode. Here's a roundup of just a few stories about the presidential hand-off.
'Get Here If You Can'
As one woman said on the Metro this morning, it looks like everyone had the same idea. Get there early. (Washington Post)
Riders on at least three buses from Selma, Ala., took a much longer route that was "the culmination of a 16-hour journey, a grinding two-year campaign and at least four decades of struggle to turn the voting rights earned 44 years ago into something few thought imaginable." (Washington Post)
Top Kenyan officials are criticized for letting their government pay the bill on trips to the inauguration while the country is in famine. (USA Today)
Many of the 260,000 troops deployed overseas have plans to watch the inauguration speech on TV. (USA Today)
Jill Biden told Oprah Winfrey that her husband, Joe Biden, had the choice of being Obama's vice president or secretary of State. (Roll Call -- subscription) Meanwhile, more than 2,000 people packed the Kennedy Center for Winfrey's special Inauguration Day show Monday. (DC Examiner)
The furniture is on its way to the White House from a secret 40,000-square-foot warehouse. "Its exact location is undisclosed." (Washington Times)
'Party Like It's 1999'
President-elect Barack Obama is celebrating his inauguration with 100 of his closest friends and relatives. (Washington Post)
Against the backdrop of a faltering economy, Obama's historic inauguration is costing $170 million to host. (Washington Times)
The president-elect hopped between three big dinners last night, the first of which was dedicated to invoking bipartisanship and honored Sen. John McCain. Not in the audience? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. (New York Times)
The "Kids Inaugural" featured the new first kids, Malia and Sasha, and the likes of the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus. FYI: For those without children or the Disney Channel, those are musical acts. (New York Times)
Wyclef Jean is one of the many celebs spotted around town. He says he will perform at tonight's Mid-Atlantic Ball and offers some careful criticism for CNN anchor Lou Dobbs. (Politico)
Back To Work
Adam Nagourney reminds us that the realist, Hillary Rodham Clinton, once splashed some cold water on this moment, mocking the Obamanation's belief that "celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect." So how long will the Honeymoon last? (New York Times)
Obama is expected to use his swearing-in moment to "call on the country to embrace a new culture of responsibility." (Wall Street Journal)
In that spirit, NationalJournal.com launches "The Promise Audit" to track whether Obama keeps his campaign promises. The deficit is expected to dampen some earlier aspirations. (Wall Street Journal)
Obama becomes not only commander-in-chief this afternoon, but also "recruiter in chief, fundraiser in chief and campaigner in chief for Congressional Democrats." (Roll Call -- subscription)
By MICHELLE WILLIAMS
You know that times are hard when even the high rollers are pinching their pennies.
With just days left until the inauguration, some upscale D.C. hotels are still looking for people to buy their luxury packages celebrating the historic event.
The Fairmont's $40,000 Eco-Inaugural Package, which includes organic spa treatments, a custom-tailored green ball gown and use of a chauffeur-driven Lexus LS 600h, has yet to inspire the environmentally conscious to partake in the inaugural activities in style, according to Diana Bulger, the hotel's director of public relations.
The Omni Shoreham Hotel, which is offering one of the most expensive inaugural packages at $440,000, has not had much luck either. No one has bitten on this ultra-lavish offering that comes with a private jet for traveling to and from D.C., a $44,000 shopping spree from a designer jewelry collection, a private performance by political satirist Mark Russell and a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. Paul Sharp, the hotel's marketing director, said Thursday that although they haven't been able to sell the package yet, there is a Hollywood couple taking a serious look at it.
Meanwhile, a D.C. businessman is also considering the Omni's more modest $58,000 inaugural offering, Sharp said.
But the Mandarin Oriental, located in the heart of the city, is faring slightly better. Although the hotel hasn't been able to sell its $200,900 Presidential Privilege Package -- which includes a four-night stay in the 3,500-square-foot Presidential Suite, designer outfits for inaugural balls and a chauffeur-driven Maserati Quattroporte -- they did find a taker just for the suite, said hotel spokeswoman Jessica Kumins.
By DAVID HERBERT
With inaugural ball tickets selling for thousands of dollars on craigslist, some bachelors are trying to parlay extra tickets into hot dates -- and finding plenty of interested parties.
The Obama campaign spawned its share of romances, from lowly volunteer hookups to the courtship and eventual marriage of Obama advisers and academic heavyweights Samantha Power and Cass Sunstein. For some, the inaugural balls will be one last shot at bHarmony, except this time around, the playing field is decidedly tilted toward those holding an extra ticket, which for popular events like the Youth Ball are selling for $400 to $1,000 online.
Graham, a 24-year old former Obama organizer with a spare ticket to the Staff Ball, said that while he'd like to take someone who was involved with the campaign, his craigslist post is an "open-ended cattle call."
"Frankly, I want someone easy on the eyes that instills confidence in me," he told NationalJournal.com. "There will only be so many times in life where I have such good date bait!"
While the fish are nibbling -- Graham received more than 25 replies to his post in less than a day -- some would-be Cinderellas are taking a more proactive role. A handful of young women have already posted their own offers, like "Two Beautiful girls," who caution that "we won't have sex with you, because we are classy."
Mary, a 24-year old engineer from Boston, said she posted an ad because she thought it would be funny and has received a handful of offers. And while the historic weekend is supposed to be a magical, some of her suitors weren't in the mood.
"I got one e-mail that only said, 'How are your oral skills?'" she said. Another mentioned he had a hotel room.
Neither got e-mails back.
"That's kinda yucky," she laughed. "It's been comical to say the least."
In his farewell address Thursday night, President Bush said he'd seen "good days and tough days," but that the lack of any attacks after 9/11 was one of his greatest accomplishments. (Wall Street Journal)
President-elect Barack Obama said he will be ready "on Day One" to address the Israeli invasion of Gaza and other problems across the Middle East. (USA Today)
Bush warned Obama Thursday that closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay is "not as easy as it sounds," noting that the president-elect will need to find homes for released detainees. (Washington Times)
The General Services Administration and YouTube are negotiating over a terms of service agreement that would allow government agencies to begin posting videos on the site. (Federal Computer Week)
Ted Kaufman, Vice President-elect Joe Biden's replacement in the Senate, doesn't want to be viewed as merely a placeholder for Beau Biden. (AP)
Obama said Thursday that he supports congressional representation for the District, but did not indicate that it would be a high priority. (Washington Post)
Confirmation Games
Despite outrage from some key media players, the controversy over Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner's tax and housekeeper problems hasn't caught fire. (Politico)
The keys to improving American standing at the United Nations are addressing poverty, nuclear proliferation, climate change and peacekeeping operations, said UN Ambassador-designate Susan Rice at her confirmation hearing Thursday. (New York Times)
Ken Salazar, Obama's choice for Interior Department chief, said Thursday he's excited to craft an "energy moon shot." (Politico)
Homeland Security Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano's confirmation hearing Thursday was short on details but long on "warm and fuzzy." (New York Times)
Mary Schapiro, Obama's choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, promised to push for more oversight of Wall Street at her confirmation hearing Thursday. (Washington Post)
Obama's Justice Department will enforce legislation protecting American telecommunication companies from lawsuits related to their involvement in the Bush administration's domestic spy program, Attorney General-designate Eric Holder said Thursday. (Wired)
Holder also said that waterboarding is torture and that it is illegal. (Los Angeles Times)
Inauguration Conflagration
Members of Congress aren't immune from the same Inauguration Day hassles that have D.C. residents worried. (Politico)
Many lawmakers are unfamiliar with a special emergency communication system designed to be used in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster during Obama's inauguration. (The Hill)
Inaugural bundlers will be given VIP treatment, with private parties, policy breakfasts with Cabinet nominees and warm spots to watch the parade. (New York Times)
By KIRK VICTOR
As the Senate Judiciary Committee grills Attorney General nominee Eric Holder, it is telling to take a look at how then-Sen. Barack Obama approached his votes on Cabinet nominees four years ago.
Obama opposed Alberto Gonzales, President Bush's choice for the nation's top law enforcement job, even as he supported the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of State -- an endorsement that put him at odds with his Illinois colleague, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, as well as some liberal activists.
In an interview with National Journal in 2006, Obama set out his rationale for those two votes. He backed Rice even though she had supported what he had referred to as the "dumb war" in Iraq, because, Obama said, "It was my judgment that the president has broad discretion to choose his executive team." She was confirmed 85-13.
But he said he used a different set of criteria for his vote on Gonzales. "I took a different tack when it came to the attorney general because I think the attorney general's job actually is to be the people's lawyer -- to tell the president what the law is and what he can't do and, based on some of the memos related to torture that I have seen from Alberto Gonzales, it didn't appear that he could say no to the president," Obama said in the interview.
Despite Obama's opposition, Gonzales was confirmed, 60-36, to become the first Hispanic attorney general. He resigned in 2007 amid charges that he had politicized the Justice Department and unfairly fired nine U.S. attorneys.
Ironically, some of the same questions that Obama raised about Gonzales are being raised about Holder today by Republicans who question whether he will exercise independence and follow the law wherever it leads -- even if it means being at odds with his friend, the president. Republicans asked about his role as deputy attorney general in the Clinton Administration when the president pardoned fugitive financier Marc Rich and commuted the sentences of 16 Puerto Rican militants who had been convicted on sedition and weapons charges. Why had he not challenged the president?
Holder acknowledged some missteps. "My decisions were not always perfect," he said. "I made mistakes.... But with the benefit of hindsight, I can see my errors clearly, and I can tell you how I have learned from them." He also tried to reassure the skeptics at the hearing, saying that the Justice Department represents "not any one president, not any political party, but the people of this great country."
No senator has voiced opposition to Holder's confirmation at this point. Given the Democrats' majority on the committee and barring any unforeseen developments, Holder is expected to win the panel's approval and go on to be confirmed as the nation's first African-American attorney general.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today voted 16-1 to approve the nomination of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., as secretary of State. The move clears the way for Senate confirmation soon after President-elect Obama takes office. The lone vote against Clinton was cast by Sen. David Vitter, R-La. In a statement, he said he was concerned about former President Bill Clinton's foundation, calling it a "multimillion-dollar minefield of conflicts of interest."
President-elect Barack Obama and his proposed stimulus package enjoy widespread popular support, according to a recent poll [PDF]. (Wall Street Journal)
A federal district court ordered departing executive branch employees to turn over their CDs, DVDs and memory sticks to help solve the mystery of how five million White House e-mails went missing during the Scooter Libby trial. (NationalJournal.com)
Obama may be "sitting on a volcano" in his netroots base, but can he harness its power? (Time)
Military commanders are devising plans for a quicker withdrawal from Iraq, in anticipation that Obama will not be satisfied with their current timetable. (New York Times)
While Vice President-elect Joe Biden wants to scale back his office's powers, that doesn't mean he wants to be a potted plant. (New York Times)
Stimulus Wars
The right-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce is working closely with Obama to craft an economic stimulus package, encouraging the president-elect to devote 40 percent of the package to tax cuts. (Washington Times)
Obama has drawn parallels between his proposed stimulus package and the New Deal, but historians continue to debate just how effective Franklin D. Roosevelt's program was. (Boston Globe)
Confirmation Games
Attorney General-designate Eric Holder can expect tough questions from both sides of the aisle at his confirmation hearing today. (Time)
Meanwhile, Republicans in particular said they would put Holder's feet to the fire regarding his ties to embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D). (Los Angeles Times)
Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Eric Shinseki pledged to "modernize" the department and reduce the backlog of medical claims at his confirmation hearing Wednesday. (Government Executive)
Lisa Jackson, Obama's pick for EPA chief, promised Wednesday to examine hundreds of coal ash disposal sites after high profile spills in Alabama and Tennessee. (AP)
At her confirmation hearing Tuesday, Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged to reexamine the State Department's benefit policies for LGBT workers and their partners. (The Advocate)
After a warm welcome, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle's nomination is being slowed by his association with a non-profit education lender being scrutinized by the IRS. (Wall Street Journal)
Inauguration Conflagration
Baltimore is bracing for overflow crowds Saturday when Obama pulls into town for his whistle stop train tour on the way to Washington. (AP)
Inaugural ball tickets are selling for thousands of dollars on craigslist, but every four years it's less glitz and glamour than "a bunch of tired people looking for the cash bar." (Los Angeles Times)
The hardest part of attending a ball may not be getting tickets but finding a baby-sitter. (Washington Post)
By ELIZABETH NEWELL, Government Executive
The new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee outlined his priorities for the panel on Wednesday, vowing to keep a close eye on the incoming Democratic administration.
"I feel strongly, as does the new president-elect, that congressional oversight should not go away just because the administration and Congress are run by the same party," said Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., at a panel discussion hosted by FTI Consulting and the public affairs firm FD Dittus Communications. "Congress has a responsibility to the citizens of this nation to check on the executive branch regardless if it's a Republican or Democratic administration."
Constructive examination by Congress can expose small problems and offer solutions before those challenges grow into national catastrophes, Towns said. And in the current economic and political environment, "oversight is in order now more than ever," he said.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
In Cabinet confirmation hearings today, Lisa Jackson pledged a focus on science at the Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture pick Tom Vilsack said nutrition would play a role in health care reform, and Eric Shinseki said he would work to transform Veterans Affairs into a "21st-century organization."
Jackson, the head of New Jersey's environmental protection agency, told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that "science must be the backbone of what EPA does." Her remarks overjoyed committee Democrats, who have been battling with current EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson over regulatory issues that they said were influenced more by interest groups than scientific findings. Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the panel's ranking member, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio, stoutly defended Johnson but indicated they will not stand in the way of Jackson's confirmation. Jackson also promised committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., that she would promptly review California's request for authority to set clean-air standards that are stricter than the EPA's. Under President Bush, the EPA had denied these requests.
Vilsack -- who as Agriculture secretary would be in charge of food stamps, school breakfast and lunch funding, and programs to help pregnant women and newborns -- told the Senate Agriculture Committee he would "make a serious effort to market good eating habits as a way of helping your country." He said he has agreed to work with Health and Human Services nominee Tom Daschle toward this goal. A strong government push on nutrition could set off bitter lobbying battles among farm groups, but as Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin noted, child nutrition is the only program the Agriculture Committee must reauthorize in 2009. Harkin, a fellow Iowa Democrat, said the committee is likely to approve Vilsack's appointment unanimously; the full Senate is scheduled to vote on Inauguration Day.
Shinseki, who helped begin a massive Army transformation effort when he served as the service's chief of staff between 1999 and 2003, said he expects to face similar challenges modernizing the VA. "Leadership, commitment and teamwork enable the challenges of transformation to become opportunities to innovate and better serve our veterans," Shinseki told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. In the near term, Shinseki said he would work to craft a "credible and accurate" FY10 budget during his first 90 days in office, focus on clearing the department's backlog of medical claims and work with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ensure a seamless transition for troops leaving the military and entering the VA.
In other confirmation developments, Treasury pick Timothy Geithner's hearing has been rescheduled for Jan. 21 after GOP senators blocked his unanimous consent request to hold it on Friday. Reports that Geithner failed to pay self-employment taxes when he worked at the International Monetary Fund several years ago threw his nomination into doubt Tuesday. Geithner also faces questions about the immigration status of a former housekeeper. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., reiterated that he thought Geithner would still be confirmed despite his missteps: "This was an honest mistake."
By THERESA POULSON
Those preparing to depart from the Executive Office of the President may be packing up their picture frames and coffee mugs, but, because of a district court ruling [PDF] made today, they'll have to turn over their memory sticks, CDs and DVDs before they walk out the door.
United States District Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. granted an emergency motion from the National Security Archive that requires the EOP to search all of its computer workstations. All EOP employees must surrender any media that may contain e-mails from March 2003 to October 2005.
The archive and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics have an ongoing suit against the EOP and the National Archives and Records Administration, seeking to preserve as many as 5 million White House e-mails that were declared missing during the Scooter Libby trial. The archive is hoping to find out more about how the e-mails were lost by looking at the EOP media.
All of the physical records from the White House will be carted away to NARA on the morning of Jan. 20. National Security Archive counsel Meredith Fuchs told National Journal that there is a hearing today to address whether additional steps need to be taken during the physical transfer of e-mail backup tapes.
Fuchs spoke with National Journal in November about the need for a stringent e-mail archiving system in the executive branch.
Hotline's Amy Walter and John Mercurio talk about Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton's appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Tuesday, as well as her possible successor in Congress.
By DAVID HERBERT
New Yorkers now favor state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over Caroline Kennedy, 31 percent to 24 percent, for Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat, according to a Quinnipiac poll released today. Those numbers are a setback in popular opinion for Kennedy, who led Cuomo 33-29 in a Dec. 23 poll as she sought to paint her appointment as a fait accompli.
It is, however, a one-man election. About 38 percent of respondents believe Gov. David Paterson (D) will tap Kennedy, a plurality but a smaller one than the 48 percent who thought she was a lock in the last Quinnipiac poll. A 40 percent plurality of voters also now believe that she would not be a good senator, a shift from the December poll, where 46 percent said she would be.
Tech Daily Dose reports on two names already circulating as possible replacement picks to head the Commerce Department now that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name from consideration. The post is Barack Obama's last remaining Cabinet position.
Two prominent business executives' names are being circulated among Washington insiders as potential nominees for Commerce secretary just a week after New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson -- President-elect Barack Obama's first choice -- withdrew his name, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state government. Several high-tech industry officials and congressional aides say John Thompson, chairman and CEO of computer security and systems management firm Symantec, and former Time Warner chairman Richard Parsons, are two of the top contenders for the job. A spokesman for Obama's transition team declined to comment.
Complete story can be read here.
By AMY HARDER
Legislation making it a misdemeanor to scalp inauguration tickets passed the Senate Tuesday night. The bill [PDF], sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., failed last month when a gambit to win quick passage in the Senate ran out of time.
Gil Duran, communications director for Feinstein, said she is now reaching out to the House to get quick passage there as well so that the bill could be signed into law by Barack Obama's inauguration. Acknowledging that it may be too late, Duran said the legislation "could have an effect on this inauguration, but it's also something that's necessary to protect the integrity of future inaugurals."
Duran said he was aware that inaugural parade tickets -- which sold out online in less than a minute on Friday -- are being scalped. He distinguished, however, between those tickets and passes for the swearing-in ceremony. The former are handled by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, a private entity, whereas the latter are managed by Congress.
By KATHERINE MCINTIRE PETERS, Government Executive
(Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
President-elect Barack Obama sounds as much like a facilities manager in chief as a commander in chief. Twice last week he pledged to modernize more than 75 percent of federal buildings to make them more energy efficient. In a December radio address, he discussed the need to replace old heating systems and to install more efficient light bulbs.
Uncle Sam is the single biggest energy consumer in the nation, so Obama's focus on federal facilities is understandable. Still, for a man inheriting two wars and a shattered economy, his comments have surprised and delighted federal building engineers and others who toil in the usually overlooked world of facilities management.
"There was a lot of excitement to hear the president-elect say the first thing on his list of infrastructure investment is to improve the energy efficiency in federal buildings," said Kevin Kampschroer, acting director of the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings.
The office, which was established by the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, is part of the General Service Administration's Public Buildings Service. GSA has considerable clout in the construction market as it owns or leases more than 352 million square feet of office space in more than 8,600 facilities nationwide and spends more than $1.2 billion in construction funds annually.
Continue reading Obama Pledges To Overhaul Federal Facilities.
For all their focus on the quotidian, pool reports can sometimes turn up a gem -- as when Ken Bazinet of the New York Daily News revealed that the Chevy Chase home Barack Obama visited Tuesday night belonged to none other than ur-conservative commentator George Will. The dinner party, later confirmed by the transition team, included other right-leaning luminaries like William Kristol and David Brooks. The pool was, unfortunately, not invited in to overhear what must have been an interesting discussion. But, for reporting this unlikely meeting of minds, Bazinet's report picks up today's Poolitzer Prize.
The PEOTUS departed Hay-Adams at 6:17 p.m. and at arrived at 6:34 p.m. at No. 9 Grafton St., Chevy Chase (right off the circle). Thanks to the good work of Hans Nichols (of Bloomberg and "Daily Show" fame), Montgomery County property tax records showed this is the home of conservative columnist George Will (valued at $1.9 million, according to the 2008 levy).We're still awaiting confirmation that this is indeed Will's house from the transition, but your pool is satisfied with the documentation.
Your pool has been told it's a dinner party.
And, thanks to an enterprising photographer, a shot through a window showed op-ed stalwarts William Kristol and David Brooks are also part of this unlikely gathering of tight, right suits.
Transition mouthpiece Tommy Vietor was also spied inside the manse.
This is for real, folks. The bloggers are going to love this one.
President-elect Barack Obama is threatening a veto against his own party to ensure that the second half of the $700 billion designated for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is released. (Time)
Obama wants to shift troops to Afghanistan, but problems remain in Iraq, according to a new Pentagon report, including an uptick in assassinations. (Army Times)
Transportation Secretary-designate Ray LaHood was consistently ranked as one of the top requesters of pork in Congress last year. (Washington Post)
Obama dined with conservative commentators George Will, David Brooks and William Kristol at Will's home Tuesday night in Chevy Chase, Md. (Wall Street Journal)
Confirmation Games
In hearings Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., rejected calls for sharper monitoring of her husband's foundation finances and said the violence in Gaza made the need for a "lasting peace agreement" more crucial than ever. (New York Times)
Energy Secretary-designate Steven Chu tempered his rhetoric on coal and nuclear power at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, while encouraging increased vehicle efficiency rather than more drilling to cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil. (Wall Street Journal)
Arne Duncan got a warm reception at his confirmation hearing, with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., telling the Education Secretary nominee that "from my view of it all, I think you're [the] best" Cabinet appointee yet. (Washington Post)
A public relations offensive by the Obama transition team will probably save Timothy Geithner's Treasury nomination from sinking after the revelation of unpaid taxes and an undocumented housekeeper. (Politico)
Senate Republicans are throwing up hurdles for Attorney General-designate Eric Holder's confirmation hearing, including bringing in the son of a man killed by Puerto Rican nationalists later pardoned with Holder's help. (Politico)
Green Government
Renewable energy technology has been buoyed by private investment, but it will take sustained government funding under Obama to really take off. (Wired)
Obama is planning to "green" many federal buildings to cut down on carbon emissions from Uncle Sam, who is the biggest single polluter in the country. (Government Executive)
Inauguration Conflagration
D.C. will get emergency federal funding to help defray inauguration costs, which may run even higher than expected, as snow is now predicted for Jan. 20. (Washington Post)
While crowd estimates for Jan. 20 have been slashed from 4 million to 1 to 2 million, more than 3,000 chartered buses have already registered for parking, which D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said "way exceeds anything the city has seen before." (NationalJournal.com)
The inauguration is poised to leave an enormous carbon footprint, but at least Obama's red carpet won't: The 725-square-yard runner was made from recyclable materials. (The Hill)
Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner's onetime housekeeper lost her immigration status while working for him, and he failed to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001 to 2004, two black eyes that President-elect Barack Obama nevertheless said should not jeopardize Geithner's nomination.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called committee members to his office this afternoon to discuss the matter before confirmation hearings begin Thursday for Geithner, currently president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Obama surrogates argued that the infractions were minor and should not tarnish Geithner's candidacy.
"He's dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction," incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today. "That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper's work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment."
Geithner would not be the first Cabinet appointee to be derailed by "immigration woes." Bernard Kerik, a Homeland Security pick for President Bush in 2004; Linda Chavez, Bush's first choice for Labor secretary; and Zoe Baird, President Clinton's first attorney general nominee, were all felled by revelations that they had employed illegal immigrants.
By AMY HARDER
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty and Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, along with Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D), addressed security, transportation and other logistical questions this morning at what is likely to be the last major press conference addressing public safety before the inauguration.
All the officials stressed the historic nature of Barack Obama's inauguration. Fenty said they were "almost pinching ourselves at this enormous, amazing event that is about to happen in our region one week from today."
"Over my 25-year career, this is the biggest event I've been a part of," said Sullivan, speaking on behalf of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff (who could not attend due to an event at the White House).
Attendees received handouts on inaugural logistics, such as Jumbotron locations and bus parking registrations. (Note: Per the mayor's office, the road closure handouts available at the conference were inaccurate and will be updated later today.)
The District has issued more than 744 licenses and 1,500 badges to street vendors. More than 2,000 buses had registered for parking spaces by the time the press conference started. Not even a half-hour later, Fenty said that number had jumped to 3,000, which "way exceeds anything the city has seen before" (though it is considerably lower than estimates offered last month at a similar press conference hosted by the Secret Service).
The two governors fielded questions primarily related to transportation. In Virginia, all major bridges leading to D.C. will be closed to private traffic in the early hours of Jan. 20 through the evening. Kaine said visitors coming in from the state should use public transportation or drive in before the bridges close. What drivers should not do, he said, is go around the Beltway and add to the gridlock in Maryland.
While the estimated number of visitors has decreased -- from 4-5 million to 1-2 million -- how to maneuver among such a large crowd is something O'Malley said attendees need to plan out meticulously.
"This is not your typical day in our country's history; this is not a typical crowd," O'Malley said. "This is not like throwing your family in the van and heading down to a visit at the Air and Space Museum. You need to have a plan. You need make yourself and the people traveling with you aware of the logistical challenges so you can navigate them safely."
By KEVIN FRIEDL
The first 100 days of modern presidencies have usually been a wait-and-see period in the court of public opinion. Most presidents since Kennedy have seen their approval ratings remain relatively steady during the three months following their inaugurations, reflecting the so-called "honeymoon period" during which voters (and the press) wait to see how the new chief executive will govern.
Two notable exceptions to this trend were Ronald Reagan, whose approval ratings rose from just over 50 percent in January to near 70 percent in May, and Bill Clinton, the only president on this list whose support fell below half during his first 100 days. (Lyndon Johnson's "first 100 days," it's worth pointing out, actually weren't; he had already been president for more than a year by the time of his second swearing-in, in 1965.)
The 100-days yardstick may have outlived its usefulness in an era of complex global challenges. But Barack Obama's poll numbers during this period will be worth watching nonetheless as the first test of whether his sky-high post-election approval ratings (subscription) survive the inevitable mistakes and compromises of actual governance. Based on the trend among post-war presidents, voters will probably give him the benefit of the doubt.
(Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
During her confirmation hearing, currently ongoing, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that she would use a mix of defense and diplomacy -- a mix she called "smart power" -- to boost the United States' standing as a world leader. But the emphasis would be on diplomacy and bridge-building whenever possible, she noted. "America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America," Clinton said. Under the smart power approach, she said, "diplomacy will be the vanguard of foreign policy." Clinton, who lost the Democratic nomination to President-elect Obama, is expected to easily win confirmation.
By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER
Obama transition officials are making it clear to incoming Cabinet secretaries and agency heads that they'll be handed a slate of perhaps five or six pre-screened candidates for the top jobs in their departments and encouraged to interview and hire from among those candidates. If the secretaries want to reach outside those lists to make their own hires, they will be required to justify their picks to the president-elect's top advisers, some of whom are headed for the offices of the White House Counsel and White House personnel.
The West Wing's control over the top slots in each department is similar to the practices of Barack Obama's predecessors, Presidents Bush and Clinton, but with a twist. The secretaries are being told that the ethnic and racial makeup of the senior officials in their departments should reflect diversity to the extent possible. Apparently, the new White House will be keeping track, according to sources close to the transition.
Outside observers have said they're puzzled, however, that Hillary Rodham Clinton -- known for having female-dominated staffs while first lady, New York senator and presidential contender -- had by early this week tapped eight white men and one woman to help her at the State Department, if she's confirmed as secretary. Although Clinton supposedly cut a deal with Obama to be able to hire her own team, some observers are dubious. Two sources report there's already been some friction between Clinton and deputy-designate James Steinberg, suggesting that she accepted her deputy more than selected him.
At the request of President-elect Barack Obama, President Bush has asked Congress to release the remaining $350 billion in TARP bailout funds. (Washington Times)
Obama has dropped his bid to include a $3,000-per-job tax credit in his economic stimulus package as a result of Democrats' criticism that the proposed cut could be easily abused by businesses. (Washington Post)
When a supporter asked over the Internet whether Obama will repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, press secretary Robert Gibbs responded, "you don't hear a politician give a one-word answer much, but it's 'yes.'" (The Advocate)
Bush will deliver his farewell speech Thursday evening. (The Caucus)
The outgoing president also held his final White House press conference Monday morning, where he acknowledged mistakes but still remained defensive on the most controversial aspects of his tenure. (NationalJournal.com)
The Name Game
William V. Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and a former congressional aide to Health and Human Services-designate Tom Daschle, has been tapped to serve as the agency's deputy secretary. (New York Times)
Obama's campaign technology adviser Julius Genachowski, who supports net neutrality and the expansion of broadband access, has been selected to head the Federal Communications Commission. (Wall Street Journal)
Rather than take up an official White House position like many of his colleagues, campaign architect David Plouffe will oversee the 13 million e-mail addresses, 4 million cell phone contacts and 2 million active volunteers that make up Obama's grassroots network. (Washington Post)
The leader of the United Auto Workers expressed reservations about the possible appointment of Wall Street financier Steven Rattner as "auto czar." (Wall Street Journal)
Foreign Policy Reshuffle
Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton wants to reclaim some of the diplomatic powers usurped by the Defense Department under Bush, and will call for more "smart power" in her Senate confirmation hearings, which begin today. (Wall Street Journal)
Former President Clinton's foreign dealings -- from overseas donations to his foundation to his efforts to broker a Middle East peace deal -- will be at the center of his wife's confirmation hearings. (Boston Globe)
Soon after taking office, Obama will have to decide whether to use an influx of troops in Afghanistan to pursue Taliban forces along the Pakistani border or protect villages from militants. (Los Angeles Times)
Closing Guantanamo Bay prison is ripe with symbolism for the new administration, but it could take Obama months or even a year to finally shutter the facility. (New York Times)
Obama will quickly reverse a number of Bush's executive orders on terror detainees, torture and executive secrecy privileges. (Politico)
Inauguration Conflagration
Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, will deliver the invocation at an inaugural event on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in a move designed to satisfy those angered over the selection of Pastor Rick Warren to preside over the swearing-in ceremony. (The Advocate)
Scalpers are hawking inaugural parade tickets with a $25 face value for $300 and more on craigslist. (NationalJournal.com)
A Georgia town has rallied around its high school band, donating thousands of dollars and giving in-kind gifts, to help the group travel to D.C. to march in the inaugural parade. (New York Times)
President Bush will "defend his record" in a primetime farewell address to the nation Thursday evening from the East Room, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino announced today.
No time has been set for the address. Perino said it would last 10 to 15 minutes and be delivered before a live audience, including "courageous people" the president has met with during his eight years in office.
"This is not going to be a swan song," said Perino, and the speech is not something where he is "looking to refight old battles."
In an e-mail, the White House said, "He will reflect on his time in office and the ways our country has changed these past eight years. He will also uphold the tradition of presidents using farewell addresses to look forward -- by sharing his thoughts on greatest challenges facing the country, and on what it will take to meet them."
-- White House Pool Report
On the heels of the outgoing president's last White House press conference, which took place this morning, the White House has posted "fact sheets" [PDF] defending the policies President Bush has pursued during his tenure.
Topics addressed include protecting America during a "global war on terror," military transformation, defense against weapons of mass destruction and Bush's "freedom agenda." Domestic items include No Child Left Behind, global health initiatives, faith-based and community initiatives and judicial appointments.
Notably missing on the domestic side is a fact sheet on the economy. The current economic crisis is relegated to two paragraphs at the bottom of the "Tax Relief" page, in which Congress is blamed for ignoring Bush's early calls to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
By DAVID HERBERT
After 5,000 inaugural parade tickets sold out in under 60 seconds Friday afternoon, the lucky few who snagged bleacher seats for the Jan. 20 procession have just one thing to say: "Show me the money."
Hundreds of those tickets, which were offered by the Presidential Inaugural Committee for $25 each, are now listed on craigslist for $300 a pop and more. The tickets are not required for the parade, but they do give access to raised stands along the route with a good view.
It is unclear whether scalping parade tickets falls under the purview of a bill introduced last week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would make the sale of inauguration ceremony tickets a misdemeanor.
Some craigslist scalpers are already searching for ways around potential legal hurdles, offering relatively worthless items like photos for large sums and offering to include passes to the parade. Others are more brazen.
"Yes ladies and gentlemen -- in exchange for your monetary gift, you will receive in return my undying love and appreciation, as well as a pair of Inaugural Parade Tickets," writes one poster. "More love and a third ticket are also available if your need for love cannot be sated, and there are three in your party.
Would-be bleacher creatures with cash flow problems are using non-monetary appeals for tickets, as well. One craigslist poster is offering to barter a new iPod touch for the chance to see the parade, which will feature everything from high school marching bands to a NASA moon rover.
By AMY HARDER
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
In his final White House press conference, President Bush joked with reporters, commended President-elect Barack Obama and gave explicit -- and notably rare -- acknowledgments of mistakes he made in office.
Putting a "Mission Accomplished" banner on an aircraft carrier for his May 2003 speech declaring victory in Iraq "was a mistake," the president said. He also conceded that his botched attempt at Social Security reform "was a mistake."
But Bush refused to say the same of other controversies, such as the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. These were "significant disappointments," he conceded, but "I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not."
The press conference was marked by a diverse mixture of humor, grave warnings for the incoming administration and nostalgia, with the outgoing president reflecting back upon everything from Iraq to Hurricane Katrina to his feelings upon taking office back in 2001. He joked with nearly every reporter who asked him a question, dubbing this press conference "the ultimate exit interview."
When asked what would be the most urgent threat facing Obama, Bush said, without hesitation: "Attack on our homeland." After pausing for a couple moments, he continued: "I wish I could report that that's not the case, but there's still an enemy out there that wants to inflict harm onto Americans." Bush also expressed his fears about nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran.
Continue reading Bush's 'Exit Interview:' Conceding Mistakes, Commending Obama.
President-elect Barack Obama and his aides are lobbying Congress to spend the second half of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, but lawmakers -- unhappy with the spending of the first half of the $700 billion package -- may try to freeze the funds. (Washington Post)
Does Obama, as the first commander-in-chief elected straight from Congress since President Kennedy, know how to handle "congressional egos"? Apparently not so much, after his first workweek was marked by bickering with lawmakers over his pick for CIA chief and the economic stimulus package. (Los Angeles Times)
Obama plans to block the estate tax from going off the books in 2010 and will likely try to lock in the current exempted amounts of $3.5 million -- $7 million for couples. (Wall Street Journal)
Speaking Sunday on "This Week," Obama said he will pursue a "policy of engagement" with Iran and lean on both sides to broker a peace deal in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (New York Times)
Obama campaigned against the executive branch's power grab over the last eight years, but just how much of that authority he will cede back is unclear. (Newsweek)
In contrast to his campaign rhetoric bashing Washington's K Street culture, Obama is reaching out to trade associations and industries -- though in a less chummy fashion than his predecessor. (Roll Call -- subscription)
If the Senate Foreign Relations Committee asks Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton about "any personal stuff or on the Bill s--t, she'll hit the ball out of the park," a Clinton adviser said of Tuesday's confirmation hearing. (Politico)
Until last week, Obama's new climate czar, Carol Browner, was one of the leaders of the "socialist group" Commission for a Sustainable World Society. Her name and biography have since been removed from the group's Web site. (Washington Times)
Black immigrants see Obama's rise as a victory for them as well, and hope that he will inspire change in their home countries. (AP)
With the White House handover also comes a changing of the guard of White House correspondents, with most networks cycling new reporters into the high-profile beat. (Politico)
The First Dog will either be a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound, Obama said Sunday, quipping that "this has been tougher than finding a Commerce secretary." (New York Times)
Marvel Comics will release a Spiderman comic Wednesday featuring the web slinger as a Secret Service agent for Obama. (Washington Post)
Inauguration Conflagration
The inauguration and its panoply of high-profile balls and parties is creating a boom for private security services. (Washington Post)
An inaugural rehearsal was held early Sunday morning, with the Obama stand-in, Staff Sgt. Derrick Brooks of the Army, making a short but sweet inaugural speech: "My fellow Americans, God bless America." (New York Times)
Eastern Market will open Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 "to give visitors a more authentic view of the city." (Roll Call -- subscription)
Meteorologists are predicting Jan. 20 will be slightly colder than average at 38 degrees and sunny. (The Hill)
By KASIE HUNT, CongressDaily
Labor Secretary-designate Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., will likely sail to confirmation despite the intense partisan divisions over labor policy on display today at her hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. "I intend to support you," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, before launching into intense questioning about Solis' position on card-check legislation that would make it easier for unions to organize. He called that bill, called the Employee Free Choice Act, "dangerous" and "terrible." She pointed out she was a co-sponsor of the bill, which passed the House in 2007, and that President-elect Obama had backed it when he was in the Senate. "If I am confirmed I will first and foremost be sure that we attend to the goals of the Department of Labor," she said. In her testimony, Solis laid out four priorities for her tenure: expanding job training and creating green jobs; enforcing workplace safety laws; enhancing retirement security; and eliminating discrimination. Solis has a strong record of backing organized labor, and unions have praised her nomination.
HELP ranking member Michael Enzi urged Solis to work with business and Republicans instead of stoking partisan rancor. "One area where common ground should certainly be found is in retooling our nation's job training system," Enzi said. Meanwhile, HELP Chairman Edward Kennedy praised Solis' background as the daughter of immigrants who worked in manufacturing jobs. "We need leaders who understand what working families are facing in today's economy. I believe that Hilda Solis is just such a leader," Kennedy said. Solis' testimony came shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the economy lost over half a million jobs in December, raising the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent, up from 6.8 percent a month earlier. "This is an especially difficult moment for middle-class families in America, increasing numbers of whom are losing their homes, their jobs and their retirement savings," she said.
By AMY HARDER
Four days after rumors began swirling about Barack Obama's surprise pick of Leon Panetta for CIA director, the buzz has now become official. At a press conference this morning Obama announced the nominations of Panetta, retired Adm. Dennis Blair for National Intelligence director and former CIA official John Brennan -- who withdrew from consideration for CIA director in November after opposition from liberal bloggers -- as White House homeland security adviser and deputy national security adviser for counterterrorism.
Some Bush administration officials will remain to work with the incoming intelligence team. Current DNI Mike McConnell will offer counsel on the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and Michael Leiter will continue as head of the United States National Counterterrorism Center.
Panetta has served as a congressman from California, Office of Management and Budget director, and White House chief of staff to President Clinton, but he has no direct intelligence experience. The unexpected pick has already triggered criticism both in Congress and the media, and will likely generate tough questioning at Panetta's confirmation hearing.
Obama wasted no time pre-emptively defending the pick. After listing Blair's credentials, the president-elect said Blair's experience "will be exceptionally complemented" by Panetta. "Let me be clear," Obama stressed. "In Leon Panetta, the agency will have a director who has my complete trust and substantial clout."
Panetta also received an unequivocal seal of approval from Blair in his remarks. "I couldn't have asked for a better leader for the CIA," Blair said, as he turned to Panetta. "With your background and perspective, the agency is in superb hands."
Panetta, who took to the podium after Blair, stressed the need for a strong intelligence team. "I commit to consulting closely with my former colleagues and the Congress to form the kind of partnership we need to win the war on terror," he said.
Show Me The Stimulus Plan!
Not surprisingly, the president-elect opened the presser with a grim message about December's employment report: 524,000 jobs lost last month. That brings the total number of jobs lost in 2008 to 2.6 million, amounting to "the single worst year of job loss since World War II," Obama said. The incoming president described the situation as "dire, deteriorating" and one that "demands urgent and dramatic action."
Most reporters' questions focused on Obama's forthcoming economic stimulus package. When probed about criticisms surrounding his plan -- specifically regarding its size and the difficulty of pushing it through Congress -- the president-elect said that his administration will always listen and take good economic ideas from any source. "What is not an option," Obama said, "is to sit and engage in posturing or standard partisan fights when the American people out there are struggling. Now, I don't expect Congress is going to do that; they understand the urgency of the situation."
Breaking with a decades-old tradition of anti-government sentiment coming from the Oval Office, President-elect Barack Obama's Thursday speech on the economic turmoil facing the country presented government as the solution to the problem. (Los Angeles Times)
Senate Democrats are already airing their doubts about Obama's economic stimulus package (Roll Call -- subscription), leaving Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner scrambling to "overhaul" the initiative. (Washington Post)
Obama wants to delay the switch to digital television -- slated for Feb. 17 -- to give the Commerce Department more time to distribute coupons for digital-to-analog converters. No specific new date was stated. (Politico)
The National Academy of Sciences is calling on Obama to loosen restrictions on the export of advanced technology, arguing that national security-inspired laws keeping high-tech wares from being sold overseas are "arcane." (New York Times)
Ann Nixon Cooper, the 106-year old woman Obama noted in his victory speech Nov. 4, is hanging on -- "I ain't got time to die because I've got to see a black president" -- and plans to watch the inauguration from home in Atlanta. (New York Times)
A joint session of Congress tallied up Obama's 365 electoral votes Thursday, officially making him the president-elect. (Los Angeles Times)
Obama is still negotiating with the Secret Service to keep his BlackBerry so, according to the president-elect, he can "stay in touch with the flow of everyday life." (AP)
Name Game
Obama has tapped Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law professor, Internet scholar and long-time friend, to lead the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which oversees e-government initiatives. (NationalJournal.com)
Continuing his reshuffling of the Defense Department, Obama named four new appointees for top jobs at the Pentagon Thursday. (Army Times)
Obama may tap former astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr. as the next head of NASA, which would make him the first black chief of the space agency. (Newsweek)
Confirmation Wars
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is rallying congressional opposition to CNN's Sanjay Gupta, Obama's pick for surgeon general, saying the neurosurgeon "lacks the requisite experience." (Politico)
Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle was treated with kid gloves in his return to the Hill Thursday for confirmation hearings, with few questions raised about how he would handle Medicare and Medicaid or about his wife's lobbying activities. (Washington Post)
When Vice President-elect Joe Biden resigns his seat, he will leave Democrats with just nine votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee, meaning Attorney General-designate Eric Holder will need to pick up one Republican vote to secure his nomination. (Politico)
Holder pushed hard for clemency for members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations during his tenure at the Justice Department under President Clinton, newly revealed information that could complicate his confirmation. (Los Angeles Times)
Inauguration Conflagration
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is as "confident as humanly possible" that his agency has not been given any reason to worry about a terrorist threat on Jan. 20. (Wall Street Journal)
The inauguration rental boom that sent weekend home rentals soaring into the tens of thousands of dollars on craigslist appears to be a bust, with supply far outstripping demand and crowd estimates for the historic event being reined in. (Washington Post)
Wall Street has donated $5.7 million of the $27.3 million Obama has already raised for his inauguration. (Wall Street Journal)
More than 200 bars, restaurants and nightclubs have already secured permits to stay open until 4 a.m. over inauguration weekend. (Washington Post)
By AMY HARDER
The latest round of violence in the Middle East has provided a timely backdrop for today's United States Institute of Peace conference examining the foreign policy challenges facing President-elect Barack Obama. At least brief mentions of the conflict found their way into several speeches at the Washington Convention Center, including those by former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in the first half of the daylong program.
It also kept away one of the program's keynote speakers: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, slated to speak early in the day, was held up in New York with the U.N. Security Council. Henrietta Fore, director of foreign assistance at the State Department and administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, spoke on Rice's behalf. The outgoing secretary is "working around the clock to end the violence in Gaza," Fore said. She also said the Middle East conflict offers a "fascinating and timely discussion as we transition to the new administration."
The rest of the morning's program centered on the danger that nuclear weapons present to the U.S. Perry, who served as Defense secretary under President Clinton, delivered a somber speech about the threat of nuclear proliferation, especially from countries like Iran and North Korea. "I have a strong belief that the gravest danger our nation faces today is a terror group detonating a nuclear bomb in one of our cities," Perry said.
He expressed optimism about the incoming president, saying there are "actions Obama can take to move us in a direction in a world with no nuclear weapons," including inviting Russia to join the U.S. in its stand against nuclear proliferation. These actions, he added, can be achieved within the new administration's first year. But while Perry ended on an encouraging note, saying the country is on a "positive track," he wasn't shy in predicting trouble ahead. "President Obama will almost certainly face a serious crisis with Iran," he said. "Indeed, I believe that the crisis point will be reached in his first year of office."
Continue reading Gaza, Nuclear Weapons Take Early Focus At USIP Conference.
By JOHN MAGGS
President-elect Barack Obama tried to rally Washington and the American people behind his massive economic stimulus plan Thursday, linking his campaign theme of change to his ambitious agenda for action on the economy.
Days away from assuming the presidency at a moment of great fear and pessimism, Obama suggested that this was instead a moment of great promise. Instead of dwelling on the many economic problems the country faces as it enters a new year, Obama called 2009 one of "the years that come along once in a generation -- the kind that mark a clean break from a troubled past, and set a new course for our nation." Obama blamed the crisis on "past mistakes" and "worn-out dogmas of the past" and tried to position his response as "a new and better course for America."
His speech, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., contained few details of his plans for the stimulus -- not even the proposal's size, which aides have reported at $775 billion over two years. A day after the government reported that the budget deficit will reach $1.2 trillion this year, Obama rejected the idea that this should limit the size of the stimulus, or the commitment of government to spend still more to confront the crisis. "There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short term. But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes and confidence in our economy."
The president-elect called on Congress to "work with me and my team day and night, on weekends if necessary," to pass a stimulus plan "in the next few weeks." Congressional leaders have said it will take until at least mid-February to pass a plan. Obama called on Congress to omit earmarks and "pet projects" from the stimulus bill but seemed to open the door to them later. "Many of these projects are worthy and benefit local communities. But this emergency legislation must not be the vehicle for those aspirations."
Obama pledged to provide to unprecedented access to the process of spending the money, but didn't say much about that other than promising that Americans will be able to use the Internet to see how taxpayer money is being spent, something that is arguably already possible.
Without appropriate action, he warned, America could lose $1 trillion a year of output, or $12,000 in annual income for a family of four, representing roughly a 7 percent contraction in output -- larger than most forecasts. He said that unemployment could reach "double digits" a day after the Congressional Budget Office predicted unemployment of 9 percent by 2010.
Obama repeated his promise to "create or save 3 million jobs," a goal that, however it is defined, would represent a fairly modest recovery.
He repeated previous promises to spend government money on renewable energy, energy conservation, on building schools and refurbishing libraries.
By ALYSSA ROSENBERG, Government Executive
The Chicago Tribune reports that President-elect Obama's longtime friend, Harvard Law professor Cass Sunstein, will take over the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is part of the Office of Management and Budget. Sunstein has some experience in government, having served in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department, and has a highly developed theory of regulation. But he also would come into office wielding an intimate understanding of his boss.
It was Sunstein who gave the most coherent outline of Obama's theory of reconciliation between competing beliefs in a May 2007 New Yorker profile:
Sometimes, of course, there is no possibility of convergence -- a question must be answered yes or no. In such a case, Obama may stand up for what he believes in, or he may not. "If there's a deep moral conviction that gay marriage is wrong, if a majority of Americans believe on principle that marriage is an institution for men and women, I'm not at all sure he shares that view, but he's not an in-your-face type," Cass Sunstein, a colleague of Obama's at the University of Chicago, says. "To go in the face of people with religious convictions -- that's something he'd be very reluctant to do." This is not, Sunstein believes, due only to pragmatism; it also stems from a sense that there is something worthy of respect in a strong and widespread moral feeling, even if it's wrong. "Rawls talks about civic toleration as a modus vivendi, a way that we can live together, and some liberals think that way," Sunstein says. "But I think with Obama it's more like Learned Hand when he said, 'The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right.' Obama takes that really seriously. I think the reason that conservatives are O.K. with him is both that he might agree with them on some issues and that even if he comes down on a different side, he knows he might be wrong. I can't think of an American politician who has thought in that way, ever."
Sunstein also has some fairly innovative thoughts about regulatory policy. He's particularly interested in finding ways to encourage people to make good decisions without demanding that they do so.
Liberal blogger Matthew Yglesias writes that the appointment shows Obama's dedication to elevating some rather obscure agencies. Appointing someone who is personally close to Obama -- and deeply familiar with his theory of governance -- to the office that oversees e-government initiatives might also be a further sign of the president-elect's commitment to using new media in governing.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President-elect Obama said today that "dramatic" and swift action is needed to save the nation from a prolonged recession. "I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible," Obama said, according to excerpts of his late-morning speech at George Mason University provided by his transition team.
Obama used the address to push for a new economic stimulus package that Congress is working on this month. "For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs," Obama said. "More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied, and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." Obama acknowledged that the package, which by some estimates might approach $1 trillion, will add to the federal deficit and be greeted skeptically in some circles. But, he noted, "At this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe."
TechDailyDose reports that one Washington high-tech industry leader was among the guests invited by the transition team for the speech. Dean Garfield, the Information Technology Industry Council's recently named president, was in the audience, sources told Tech Daily Dose. Garfield, who replaced longtime chief Rhett Dawson late last year, is best known for helping to sink Internet file-sharing operations Grokster and Kazaa. Before joining ITI, which represents Apple, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and other major high-tech companies, he was chief strategic officer for the Motion Picture Association of America.
By CONGRESSDAILY
A member of President-elect Obama's transition team for the Treasury announced Wednesday he is running for the seat held by Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., the Pasadena Star-News reported.
Emanuel Pleitez has worked in the offices of then-Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa and the Senate Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee.
If Solis wins confirmation, a special election would be held within 140 days.
State Sen. Gloria Romero and Judy Chu, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization, both Democrats, have said they will run for the reliably Democratic seat.
After a flawless start, Bill Richardson's Commerce withdrawal, flip-flopping on Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris and miscommunication with Senate Democrats over incoming CIA chief Leon Panetta are bringing President-elect Barack Obama back down to Earth. (Washington Times)
Obama is concentrating power in a circle of White House advisers, potentially bypassing his Cabinet to a degree unseen since Richard Nixon tried to eliminate the majority of his Cabinet. (Washington Post)
When he arrives on the Hill today for confirmation hearings, Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle is expected to be grilled on Obama's proposal to allow a publicly-run heath insurance plan modeled on Medicare to compete with private insurance companies. (New York Times)
However, unlike previous administrations, most of Obama's appointments are looking forward to swift confirmation hearings, with the possible exception of Attorney General-designate Eric Holder. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Though she has not yet been confirmed, Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton is already filling out her top tier of advisers in Foggy Bottom. (New York Times)
Obama promised Wednesday to rein in Social Security and Medicare spending to help close a projected $1.2 trillion budget deficit, though he did not offer any specifics about how he would trim those entitlement programs. (Washington Times)
Obama may spend up to $1 billion on biometric applications, mostly for defense and intelligence, a new report says. (Federal Computer Weekly)
After spending $85 million to help get Obama elected, the Service Employees International Union may spend up to $50 million pushing card-check legislation and health care reform. (Wall Street Journal)
Despite their usual aversion to government spending, moderate "Blue Dog" Democrats are signing onto Obama's stimulus plan. (The Hill)
President Bush hosted Obama and the three living former presidents at a White House lunch Wednesday, saying, "one message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed." (Washington Post)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., reintroduced legislation Tuesday that would criminalize the scalping of inauguration tickets. (NationalJournal.com)
Congress meets today to count the electoral votes and officially name Obama president. (AP)
The already-considerable influence of Michelle Obama's wardrobe choices may amount to a "one-woman bailout" for the American fashion industry. (New York Times)
Name Game
Obama will likely tap CIA veteran John Brennan, an early contender for the top job at that agency, to oversee domestic counterterrorism programs as part of a major intelligence overhaul. (New York Times)
Nancy Killefer will serve both as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget and the nation's first-ever "performance czar." (NationalJournal.com)
Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, smoothed any ruffled feathers over Panetta's nomination for the top job at the CIA, saying she now supports his candidacy. (Wall Street Journal)
By ELIZABETH NEWELL, Government Executive
In addition to serving as the government's first chief performance officer, Nancy Killefer will also serve as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, Killefer confirmed to Government Executive.
Killefer, who succeeds Clay Johnson III in OMB, will meet with Cabinet members and other key agency officials soon after the inauguration and then on a regular basis.
"I am convinced the success of every policy of this administration will be influenced by the people executing it, and I'm committed to engaging and drawing on the talents of the federal workforce in order to deliver on our promise of a new more efficient and effective government," Killefer said.
In announcing Killefer on Wednesday, President-elect Barack Obama touted her career in the Clinton Treasury Department, where she served as assistant secretary for management, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, as well as her private sector experience at McKinsey and Co., a management consulting firm where she is a senior director. The president-elect said Killefer is an expert at streamlining processes and eliminating inefficiencies who also understands that government services are delivered by people.
"During the campaign, I said that we must scour this budget line by line, eliminating what we don't need or what doesn't work, and improving the things that do," Obama said. "Working with Peter Orszag and Rob Nabors at the Office of Management and Budget, Nancy Killefer is uniquely qualified to lead that effort."
By AMY HARDER
Nearly 1,400 people are slated to attend the United States Institute for Peace's "Passing the Baton 2009" conference on Thursday, which will feature outgoing officials such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley discussing "critical foreign policy challenges and opportunities facing the new administration as it transitions into power."
This is nearly twice as many attendees as USIP's first conference of this kind, which took place in 2001, and hundreds more than expected, said spokeswoman Lauren Sucher. She said that the Institute, which was established by Congress in the early 1980s, took pains to ensure that the conference was free so that anyone could attend.
Other noteworthy speakers include: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. David Petraeus, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of Defense William Perry and former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.
James Jones, Barack Obama's nominee for national security adviser, is not on the speaker schedule, but is on the list of speakers' biographies. Sucher could not yet confirm whether Jones will attend.
By MARY GILBERT
President-elect Barack Obama continued to focus on economic recovery at a press conference this morning, revealing that he is creating a new position within the Office of Management and Budget. Nancy Killefer, senior director for consulting firm McKinsey & Company, has been named the nation's first-ever "chief performance officer," tasked with helping Obama eliminate wasteful spending in government programs.
Speaking at his transition team's Washington headquarters, Obama told reporters he intends to make good on his promise to change the way business is done in Washington. He said that, even in good economic times, the country can no longer afford to squander "billions of tax dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of a lobbyist or interest group," but that the current downturn makes taking action on government waste particularly urgent.
Repeating his Tuesday prediction that the country will have to live with a deficit of nearly $1 trillion for several years to come, Obama said that what cannot persist is a "deficit of accountability" in Washington and "a deficit of trust" between the American people and their leaders. He called Killefer's appointment "among the most important I will make."
Killefer, a veteran of the Treasury department, will also help oversee implementation of Obama's economic recovery plan. "In order to restore confidence in our economy, we must restore the American people's confidence in their government," Obama said.
Pressed on the size and cost of his stimulus package, Obama refused to give a number, saying that it would probably be on "the high end" of his team's estimate but would likely not reach the trillion-dollar mark that some economists are suggesting. Obama also hedged when asked about his intentions to address entitlement spending, telling reporters that he would have more to say about that in February, in line with his announcement of a proposed federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The president-elect was also challenged by MSNBC's Chuck Todd on his continued "silence" regarding the situation in Gaza, but Obama repeated his "one president at a time" defense. "We can't have two administrations running foreign policy at the same time. We simply can't do it," he insisted, saying that there is a difference between domestic and foreign affairs. He maintained that he and his foreign policy team are doing everything they can to ensure that they are "prepared to engage immediately" when he takes office on Jan. 20.
Finally, asked whether or not he would like to see Roland Burris assume his former Senate seat, Obama responded: "That is a Senate matter." He praised Burris as a "fine public servant" and pledged to work with him, as with all of the other senators, if he is seated.
By DANIEL FRIEDMAN, CongressDaily
Top Senate Democrats appear poised to seat Roland Burris as Illinois' junior senator if the state's Supreme Court decides in coming days to force the Illinois secretary of State to certify Burris' appointment. "The court decision is very important before we move to the next step," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference today.
Following a meeting with Burris, Reid and Majority Whip Richard Durbin said they would also monitor Burris' testimony Thursday before an Illinois legislative panel that is considering the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), who was arrested last month on charges he tried to sell the appointment to President-elect Obama's former seat.
Reid indicated that if Burris obtains certification and avoids missteps in the hearing, the Senate would refer to his appointment to the Senate Rules Committee for review. He did not say what specifically the panel would examine. But it appears the review would be a formality, and the senators left little doubt they are backing off their initial refusal to seat Burris or anyone else appointed by Blagojevich.
Senate Democrats are under pressure from members of the Congressional Black Caucus eager to see Burris, who was Illinois' first black attorney general and comptroller, replace Obama, who was the only black Senate member. Durbin said Burris assured the senators at the outset of their meeting "that this controversy has nothing to do with... race." Durbin and Reid praised Burris' qualifications and demeanor. Reid called Burris "candid and forthright" and an "extremely nice man." Burris, who has planned a press conference later today, did not address reporters. Obama earlier today appeared ready to accept the senators' decision.
Updated at 12:43 p.m. on Jan. 7.
By AMY HARDER
NationalJournal.com has obtained a copy of the legislation -- introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Tuesday on the Senate floor -- that would make it a misdemeanor to scalp inauguration tickets.
The bill, which was originally introduced in December, has been revised to allow official presidential inaugural committees to raise money funds for the ceremony itself. In her remarks on the floor Tuesday, Feinstein distinguished between the practice of selling the yet-to-be-released free tickets for inordinately high prices online and the raffle-like practices that presidential inaugural committees, including Barack Obama's, have engaged in for some time.
"Unlike unscrupulous Web sites and ticket scalpers, there is no 'profit' made by presidential inaugural committees in giving these tickets to people in return for inaugural donations," Feinstein said. "This exemption will allow both parties to raise the needed funds to put on presidential inaugurals in the future."
See the text of the revised bill here [PDF] and the original version here [PDF].
President Bush is hosting every living former president -- plus President-elect Barack Obama -- at the White House today for lunch, the first such gathering since 1981. (AP)
Obama's "one president at a time" tack on the Israeli invasion of Gaza is frustrating some Middle East players and threatening to spoil his "honeymoon" in the region. (Los Angeles Times)
Vice President-elect Joe Biden has organized a trip with four other senators to southwest Asia this week, "despite a rule that prohibits lame-duck Senators from traveling on taxpayer-funded trips." (Roll Call -- subscription)
Now that the future first family is checked into its suite at the Hay-Adams Hotel, the identity of the guest occupying the Blair House has emerged: former Australian Prime Minister John Howard. (New York Times)
CDR Financial Products, the California-based firm at the center of the federal investigation into New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, also donated $28,500 to Obama and the Democratic Party in September. (Washington Times)
After being the "center of black political power in Washington" for 40 years, the Congressional Black Caucus is trying to figure out its place under an African-American president. (New York Times)
Obama's Change.gov transition site has a new rival -- Change.org -- which lets users submit and vote on progressive policy ideas for the new administration. (NationalJournal.com)
An 18-year-old hacker has admitted to breaking into Obama's Twitter accounts (and those of other celebrities as well). (Wired)
Inauguration Conflagration
The Presidential Inaugural Committee is giving the Smithsonian Institute $700,000, allowing two museums to open two hours early on Jan. 20 while also helping the institute fund special events. (Washington Post)
The DC Metro has opened nearly 60,000 parking spots up at various metro stations for Inauguration Day. (Washington Post)
Major bridges into the city, however, will be closed and transit officials are warning of traffic nightmares. (AP)
Meanwhile, many local residents intend to flee the city on the days surrounding the Inauguration. (Washington Post)
Stimulus Wars
Obama promised to ban pork-barrel projects in his forthcoming economic stimulus package, but warned of trillion-dollar budget deficits "for years to come." (Washington Times)
Obama is preparing to name a new "efficiency officer" to trim waste from government agencies. (Government Executive)
California has $44 billion worth of infrastructure and green projects ready to go pending a federal stimulus package, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) told Obama Tuesday. (Reuters)
Name Game
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN, has reportedly accepted the post of Surgeon General. (Time)
Obama is defending his choice of Leon Panetta for CIA chief, which one critic called a "Hail Mary pass" (Los Angeles Times). Still, Panetta's former White House colleagues said he's the right man for the job. (Washington Post)
Mary Schapiro, Obama's choice for the top job at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is expected to face tough questioning over the Bernie Madoff scandal at her Senate confirmation hearing next week. (Wall Street Journal)
President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Leon Panetta as CIA director garnered mixed reviews from talking heads.
By DAVID HERBERT
Barack Obama's Change.gov isn't the only Web site culling ideas and comments from progressives: Change.org is letting the public submit and vote on progressive policy ideas, ranging from the repeal of the PATRIOT Act to the legalization of marijuana.
Change.org, which is not affiliated with Obama, accepted more than 7,700 submissions for policy ideas and more than 280,000 votes from Nov. 24 through Dec. 31. The top three vote-getters in 30 categories, from energy to gay rights, advanced to the second round of polling, which began Monday.
Most of the top ideas so far in the second round of voting aren't new: ending the war on drugs, passing universal health care legislation, legalizing same-sex marriage. But unlike Change.gov or any of the myriad nongovernmental organizations dealing with these issues, Change.org is partnering with MySpace and the Case Foundation to "launch a national campaign behind each idea."
Web strategist Jon Pincus, whose idea "Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and restore our civil liberties" is currently ranked No. 2, argued that combining grassroots politics with the power of a social networking site like MySpace could prove a potent combination, even for issues that have already been debated ad nauseam.
The online vote could also help push legislation with some congressional support -- like the DREAM Act, which would give undocumented high school graduates a path to citizenship -- over the finish line. The only obstacle to the DREAM Act, Pincus said, is that it lacks vocal advocates.
"Who's going to prioritize undocumented minors?" he said. "Nobody."
The second round of voting ends Jan. 15. Change.org and the Case Foundation will announce the 10 winners at the National Press Club on Jan. 16.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris today presented his credentials to the secretary of the Senate, but they were rejected and he said he would now consider his other options. "I was advised that my credentials were not in order and would not be accepted and I will not be seated and will not be permitted on the floor," Burris told reporters outside the Capitol. After saying he would not seek a confrontation, Burris left the Capitol grounds. His attorneys said Burris' options range from filing a lawsuit to continuing negotiations with Senate leaders to take the seat to which he was appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
This move will not sit well with many of National Journal's political insiders and top political bloggers, who told NationalJournal.com that Senate Democrats should seat Burris as Barack Obama's replacement.
By AMY HARDER
Legislation making it a misdemeanor to scalp inauguration tickets will be reintroduced this afternoon on the Senate floor. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D.-Calif., failed last month when a gambit to win quick passage in the Senate ran out of time.
Howard Gantman, staff director of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, acknowledged that while "time is limited," Feinstein will try to pass the legislation before the inauguration takes place. Feinstein, chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, tried to "hotline" the bill through the Senate -- getting it approved by a unanimous consent -- in December, as well.
The legislation would ban the sale of the 240,000 free tickets that members of Congress will allocate a few days before Jan. 20. The tickets were fetching high prices online through Web sites like eBay and StubHub, which have since worked out an agreement with Feinstein blocking any such sales.
Gantman said the bill has been revised to allow official presidential inaugural committees to raise money "for the purpose of putting on the inaugural event itself." This includes funding for things like Jumbotrons and Port-A-Potties, he said. President-elect Barack Obama's official inaugural committee is holding a raffle to give away inauguration tickets (including airfare to Washington and hotel accommodations) to 10 people who donate at least $5.
Gantman said that while the bill was being revised, it came to the senator's attention that official inaugural committees in the past have often used raffle-like techniques to raise money. "There is a strong distinction between raising money to put on the actual event and scalping tickets," Gantman said.
NationalJournal.com obtained a copy of the original bill [PDF] and the revised one will be available once it's introduced later today.
Big Business is looking for "common ground" with President-elect Barack Obama and the Democratically controlled Congress, but business interests are not always aligned and the party does not always speak with one voice. (Wall Street Journal)
Obama's Twitter feeds were hacked Monday, with a message sent to followers asking them to take a survey about Obama for the chance to win $500 in gasoline. (Wired)
The number of donors giving the $5,000 maximum to Obama's transition efforts has dropped off in recent weeks, but those heavy-hitters have been replaced by tens of thousands of small-time donors. (NationalJournal.com)
In releasing his donor list Monday, Obama took another step towards a transparent e-government by using a new Web application Blist, while also giving the Seattle-based start-up a belated Christmas present by bestowing its product with the Obama seal of approval. (Tech Daily Dose)
The spotlight was on Malia and Sasha Obama as they began classes at Sidwell Friends Monday. (Washington Post)
Despite talk of record crowds, the Capitol Police are less worried about Jan. 20 than they were about President Bush's second inauguration four years ago -- the first after Sept. 11. (Roll Call -- subscription)
Inauguration Day will be a paid holiday for federal employees in the D.C. area, including teleworkers, while outgoing political appointees will receive half a day's pay on Jan. 20. (Government Executive)
Stimulus Wars
Obama visited Capitol Hill Monday to drum up support for his stimulus plan and woo skeptical Republicans, telling them that "the monopoly on good ideas does not belong to a single party." (Washington Post)
Economists are split on whether Obama's plan to slash taxes will boost the economy any more than similar cuts made by Bush. (Boston Globe)
Democrats would like to begin passing aggressive energy, global warming and health care legislation, but there are threats to that agenda from within the party. (Wall Street Journal)
Name Game
Obama has tapped Leon Panetta, a former congressman and White House chief of staff, but a Langley outsider, to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. (New York Times)
Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School, is Obama's choice for solicitor general. (AP)
Social conservative activists are mobilizing against Thomas J. Perrelli, Obama's pick for the number three job at the Justice Department, because of his involvement in the Terry Shiavo case four years ago. (Washington Times)
Richardson Saga
On Monday, in Bill Richardson's first public comments since he withdrew his name as Commerce secretary nominee, the New Mexico governor said doing so was his idea and hinted that he'd like to serve in the Obama administration in the future. (NationalJournal.com)
But the spectacle may tarnish Richardson's standing as a Latino leader and could hamstring any possible future involvement in the administration. (Los Angeles Times)
Richardson's withdrawal means he will return to New Mexico, where the unexpected resumption of his governorship is being met with mixed feelings. (New York Times)
Not everyone is thrilled with Barack Obama's reported second choice for the position of CIA director. But while Leon Panetta's intelligence credentials appear thin, his resume in government is top-notch: He represented California's 16th District for eight terms in Congress and served as House Budget chairman, Office of Management and Budget director and chief of staff to President Clinton.
Though Panetta has kept a relatively low profile since leaving government, National Journal has profiled him extensively over the years -- in his days as a congressional budget hawk, during his tenure at OMB, during the tumultuous years when he served as White House chief of staff, and finally, after he had left the administration and was free to comment on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The picture that emerges is that of an intelligent, hard-driving but good-natured public servant respected on both sides of the aisle -- variously described as "Mr. Budget," a "principled pragmatist," a "take-charge conductor" and "a bulldog."
By DAVID HERBERT
In his first public appearance since announcing Sunday that he was withdrawing his nomination to become Commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson insisted that the decision to step aside was his alone and hinted that he'd like to serve in the Obama administration down the line.
"Sometimes your own dreams and plans must take a back seat to what is best for the nation," Richardson said at the mid-day press conference in Santa Fe. "The president-elect said in his statement yesterday that he looks forward to my future service in his administration. I still believe I have a lot to give in public service."
A federal grand jury is investigating whether the New Mexico Finance Authority awarded $1.5 million of work to California-based CDR Financial Products in 2004 as a result of pay-to-play politics. CDR donated more than $100,000 to two of Richardson's political committees, in addition to other contributions.
Richardson maintained that he and his administration acted properly and said he had "underestimated" how long the investigation would take. Richardson declined to answer when a reporter asked the final question of the press conference: "Governor, do you have a lawyer?"
Given Richardson's stated reason for withdrawing was that he did not want to slow the nomination process, President-elect Barack Obama will likely move quickly to fill the post.
But with the sudden Cabinet vacancy, "every special interest group that feels under-represented will see this as an opportunity to redress that wrong," said David Rothkopf, a former deputy undersecretary of Commerce for international trade under President Clinton. Latino leaders are already calling on Obama to nominate another Hispanic.
All things being equal, Rothkopf argued that Obama would be wise to tap a governor with experience growing a large economy. Considering the dire need to reboot the Midwest's economy, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) might not be a bad pick.
"Probably the best choice would be [New York City Mayor] Mike Bloomberg," Rothkopf said, "but I think he's got other plans."
By DAVID HERBERT
Barack Obama raised more than $3.8 million through Dec. 15 to cover his transition expenses, his team announced today, though that figure barely puts him on pace to cover his bills.
The donor list doesn't feature many new high-profile names, and that's probably how the transition team would like it. Obama's initial transition fundraising relied on deep-pocketed supporters; as of Nov. 15, just 8 percent of transition boosters gave less than $200 and the average donation was $659. But Obama has diversified his portfolio, recruiting tens of thousands of boosters since then and driving the average donation down to $70.62.
The number of contributors giving the $5,000 limit has dropped off sharply. Just 88 new donors maxed out from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, compared to 131 boosters who gave the limit through Nov. 15. And the influx of small-time donors hasn't made up for that gap. Obama hauled in $2.6 million, or roughly $88,000 a day, from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15. That's down from his $1.17 million take, or about $106,000 a day, from Election Day to Nov. 15.
Still, if Obama can continue to fundraise at this level through the inauguration, he should be able to come close to pocketing the roughly $7 million he needs to pay his transition bills.
Some notable new donors:
Ned Lamont, 2006 Democratic Senate nominee in Connecticut -- $5,000
Dana Chasin, senior adviser at OMB Watch -- $5,000
Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist -- $1,000
Michael Diamond, Beastie Boys -- $504
President-elect Barack Obama announced today that Dawn Johnsen, currently a law professor at Indiana University, has been tapped to take over a job she held on an acting basis in the Clinton administration -- running the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.
A traditionally obscure agency tasked with advising the president on the legality of his policy decisions, the OLC has garnered unusual attention in recent years because its opinions represented the legal framework for the Bush administration's war on terror. Johnsen spoke with National Journal's Shane Harris before the election about the credibility of some of those opinions and the difficulties facing the incoming Obama administration as it tries to break with the Bush team's precedents. Edited excerpts follow.
President-elect Obama crossed all the major jobs off his to-do list and went on vacation last month, only to see his nominee for Commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdraw this weekend. Obama had been among the earliest presidents to name a Commerce pick, making the selection in Week 5 of the transition, the same week as Bush 41. Reagan and Clinton followed in Week 6, Bush 43 in Week 7.
By MARY GILBERT
President-elect Barack Obama rounds out his picks today to lead the Justice Department, and it appears that National Journal's Shane Harris and Peter Stone were right on the money in their predictions last month for who would fill these sub-Cabinet positions.
David Ogden, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in Washington and head of the Obama transition team's agency review of the Justice Department, has been nominated for the post of deputy attorney general. Ogden's deputy in the transition process and another D.C. lawyer, Thomas Perrelli, has been chosen as associate attorney general.
Filling out his team, Obama named Harvard Law School Dean Elena Kagan as his solicitor general-designate. And Dawn Johnsen, professor at Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, has been selected to lead the Office of Legal Counsel, a role she also served under President Clinton from 1997 to 1998.
These individuals, along with Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, will face the daunting task of restoring credibility to the Justice Department after multiple reports of politicization of the agency under the Bush administration. For more on that topic, see NationalJournal.com's Insider Interview with former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick.
President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus package will include $300 billion in tax cuts, designed in part to win over congressional skeptics worried that his plan is too focused on government spending. (New York Times)
One of the biggest challenges facing the federal government won't be just passing an economic stimulus package, but spending the money fast enough. (AP)
Obama and congressional Democrats will move quickly to overturn a 2007 Supreme Court decision that made it harder for workers to challenge employers, schools and landlords who discriminate against them. (New York Times)
Alternative energy advocates question the premise of a new Energy Department book heralding its national laboratories as "the single greatest scientific enterprise in the world." (Bloomberg News)
Obama has promised to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, but the majority of active service members oppose changing the policy. (Newsweek)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hasn't ruled out seating former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill Obama's Senate seat, and will meet with him Wednesday. (Washington Times)
Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, a top Obama ally and once a short-list candidate for the vice presidential slot, is poised to replace Howard Dean as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. (AP)
Obama's robust workout regimen won't spare him the accelerated aging that afflicts occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during their stay, doctors say. (Boston Globe)
Commerce Drama
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name from consideration for the top job at the Commerce Department, citing an investigation into allegations that he engaged in "pay-to play" politics in the Land of Enchantment. (Washington Post)
The Obama transition team pressed Richardson on the federal investigation, but the governor revealed little, showing the limits of the team's aggressive vetting process. (Politico)
After Richardson's withdrawal, Hispanic leaders are eager for Obama to tap another Hispanic for the top job at Commerce. (Politico)
Inauguration Conflagration
Obama arrived at his temporary D.C. home, the Hay-Adams Hotel, Sunday, closing roads and luring well-wishers and protesters. (Washington Post)
Obama's inaugural committee has reportedly begun extending invitations to musical acts, such as Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers, to perform on Jan. 20. (FOX News)
Wireless carriers are gearing up for an explosion of traffic on Jan. 20, erecting new cell phone towers in D.C. and urging users to send text messages instead of calling to lighten the burden on the system. (Washington Post)
The University of California, Berkeley will host its first-ever inauguration celebration, a sign that knee-jerk opposition to the government may relax at that bastion of liberalism. (Boston Globe)
Just weeks after being tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to be Commerce Secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending probe into a company that has done business with his state government. Richardson issued a statement saying the federal grand jury investigation into a firm, which contributed to his political career and won a sizable state contract, "promises to extend for several weeks or, perhaps, even months."
Richardson, who would have led an agency that oversees the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, said he and his administration have "acted properly in all matters" and the investigation will bear out that fact. However, he concluded the probe would have forced "an untenable delay in the confirmation process." Obama issued a statement calling Richardson "an outstanding public servant" and said it is was a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he removed himself from the running. Read more in CongressDaily (subscription required).
The Obamas will settle in at the historic Hay-Adams hotel this weekend in time for daughters Malia and Sasha to begin classes at Sidwell Friends School. (AP)
Upon returning to Washington, Barack Obama plans to meet with congressional leaders on Monday and with President Bush and former presidents on Wednesday. (AP)
While much attention has been focused on liberals' reaction to some of the more moderate Cabinet picks, many conservatives are alarmed by the number of "ardent liberals" among the president-elect's team of advisers. (Washington Post).
Sources say Caroline Kennedy will likely be New York Gov. David Paterson's choice to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Senate. (AP)
The paparazzi and the entertainment press may be helping Obama expand his base of popularity as he prepares to take office. (Politico)
Foreign Policy Hopes, Fears
Facing a potential new "space race" with China, Obama will likely work to establish greater cooperation between NASA and the Pentagon. (Bloomberg News)
Clinton's "once troubled history with Arab-Israeli issues" could complicate her efforts to deal with the crisis as secretary of state. (New York Times)
The U.K. is asking allies to take in detainees held by the U.S. in order to smooth the way for Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay facility. (Bloomberg News)
Some activists are holding out hope that Obama could facilitate a thaw in relations with Cuba. (BBC News)
Inauguration Conflagration
Obama will host a Commander in Chief's Ball on Jan. 20 specifically for military families. (AP)
A record 60,000 people have volunteered to help with the inauguration, but no more than 18,000 will be needed. (Washington Post)
As millions of visitors flood into D.C. ahead of the inauguration, many "emasculated elephants in the GOP herd" will be heading out of town. (Politico)
Some attendees are registering their inaugural ball gowns online to prevent others from showing up in the same outfit. (New York Daily News)
