APPOINTMENTS

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 12:10 PM

Obama Announces New 'Performance Officer'

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.