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)
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