The 2010 census has been a source of controversy throughout the transition period, beginning in early February with President Obama's selection of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., to run the Commerce Department. The pick created a firestorm of protest (subscription) from minority groups who believed Gregg was unsupportive of efforts to adequately count their constituencies in the census -- leading the administration to announce it would wrest control of the Census Bureau from Commerce. This move created another angry backlash (subscription), this time from Republicans complaining that the White House was politicizing the census and making an unprecedented power play. When Gregg resigned on Feb. 12, he cited the census as one of the main reasons.
The storm seemed to die down when Gregg's replacement, former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, insisted to Congress that Commerce would retain control of the Census Bureau after all. But a new controversy has emerged over Obama's pick to head the bureau, Robert Groves, a statistics expert from the University of Michigan. This time, Republicans are concerned that Groves will introduce statistical sampling to the 2010 count -- a practice that he unsuccessfully advocated as a bureau official in the early 1990s.
Eliza Krigman has more on the Groves controversy, and the difficulties facing the bureau less than a year out from the census, in this week's National Journal (subscription).
For his third nominee to lead the Commerce Department, President Obama has turned to Gary Locke, who combines the gubernatorial experience and Democratic pedigree of first pick Bill Richardson with a fiscal conservative streak more reminiscent of second pick Judd Gregg.
Locke built a decidedly pro-trade record during his eight years as the nation's first Chinese-American governor in Washington state and then as a China trade specialist with an international law firm. Locke helped arrange deals in China for Microsoft, Boeing and Weyerhaeuser. He guided Washington through a serious budget shortfall, but he took some criticism for doing it in part by cutting services. He also helped push a successful ballot initiative that linked Washington's minimum wage to inflation.
A comparison of Locke's positions to those of his two predecessors for the Commerce job follows after the jump.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Updated at 1:30 p.m.
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke was introduced this morning as President Obama's nominee to head the Commerce Department. Obama has to be hoping the third time's the charm. His two earlier choices for the post, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., both withdrew.
"I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times, but I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right," Obama joked at the press conference announcing Locke's nomination. "And Gary is the right man for this job." Obama went on to praise the country's first Chinese-American governor for his work wooing business to Washington state and for growing the state's high-tech economy. With this pick, the only Cabinet seat without even a nominee is back down to one: Health and Human Services was originally intended for former Sen. Tom Daschle, who withdrew his nomination after it emerged he had failed to pay all his income taxes.
Subscribers can view Locke's Almanac of American Politics profile here.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, is expected to be named soon as President Obama's third choice for Commerce secretary.
Locke, 59, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005. He now works in the Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine.
Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson backed away from the post after initially accepting offers from Obama.
By ALINA SELYUKH
Just as the dust was settling last week from the exits of Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., whipped up the tumult again. By pulling out of consideration for Commerce secretary, a post previously abandoned by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), Gregg became the Obama administration's fourth high-level dropout so far.
But while this administration has set a turnover record for an incoming Cabinet, it's hardly the first to run into problems with its nominees. Bill Clinton leads among recent presidents with a total of six major nominee dropouts over the course of his presidency, followed by George W. Bush and his Cabinet's two withdrawals. Three previous presidents -- George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter -- each slipped once. All but Reagan had at least one kink in their first-term Cabinet selection process, with Clinton accepting three withdrawals.
Details about each of those instances follow after the jump.
Continue reading Obama Challenges Clinton For Most Nominee Dropouts.
The withdrawal of Judd Gregg's nomination for Commerce secretary has commentators and editorial boards reeling. Here's a roundup from some of the major newspapers and Web sites.
The Washington Post predicts that "there will be plenty of questions about both sides of this collapsed merger."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Gregg's departure "indicates that President Obama's life with the left-wing of his party may become a sea of troubles."
"Obama is lucky to be rid of Gregg," declares The Nation's John Nichols. "This nomination was always a case of taking the 'team of rivals' fantasy to extremes."
George Stephanopoulos views Gregg's withdrawal as an "embarrassment to both men."
The London Daily Telegraph's Toby Harnden gives 10 reasons why this is a "major blow" to Obama.
Edward Luce sees this as evidence that Obama's "once widely praised vetting machine is in danger of seizing up" and as "a setback for Mr. Obama's bipartisan aspirations."
Recounting the other three major departures from Obama's Cabinet, the New York Post editorial board writes that "it's refreshing to hear that Gregg's departure is occasioned not by scandal, but by something rarely seen in Washington -- principle."
Kansas City Star columnist Barb Shelly believes "things are looking good for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius being offered the Health and Human Services position. With Obama's people now back at Square One on the commerce job, they'll probably want to get the HHS post filled quickly. Or maybe she'll get a look for commerce secretary."
Karl Rove, Linda Chavez and other political insiders offer their thoughts in the Washington Post.
Hotline On Call has a roundup of Thursday night's TV commentary.
Updated at 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 12
Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., this afternoon became President Obama's second Commerce secretary nominee to withdraw his name from consideration, citing differences over the stimulus package and the administration of the census. Gregg had been Obama's third Republican Cabinet nominee.
In a statement, Gregg thanked Obama and praised his leadership. "I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle," Gregg said.
"However," the statement continued, "it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy."
The administration has drawn fire from Republicans over its decision to move the Census Bureau, traditionally part of the Commerce Department, under White House control. The move was reportedly (subscription) a response to criticism from black and Latino advocacy groups over the nomination of Gregg, who they believe obstructed efforts to fully count minorities in the previous census. House Republicans today threatened legal action (subscription) over the administration's move.
Of course, some differences between Obama and Gregg were apparent from the beginning. "Clearly, Judd and I don't agree on every issue," Obama said when the nomination was announced on Feb. 3, "most notably who should have won the election."
Obama's original choice for the job, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew in January over pay-to-play allegations.
Read Gregg's full statement after the jump.
Continue reading A Precedent For 'Unprecedented' Bipartisanship.
By ALINA SELYUKH
(Credit: Getty Images)
Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., weren't frequently mentioned in the same breath until President Obama nominated first one and then the other to head the Department of Commerce. Both have served stints as governors, and they shared six years on the House floor in the '80s -- that about covers the similarities. So it raised some eyebrows that, after nearly a month with no Commerce nominee, Obama would choose Gregg for a position he'd previously envisioned Richardson filling.
During the announcement of Gregg's nomination, Obama acknowledged the seeming incongruity of his pick. "Clearly, Judd and I don't agree on every issue," he said, "most notably who should have won the election." In fact, Gregg's opinion of the very department he is now set to lead has differed sharply from his Democratic colleagues: He voted in 1995 for a budget resolution that would have eliminated the agency outright. Possibly the closest Gregg has come to sounding like a Democrat was when he helped George W. Bush prepare for the 2000 and 2004 presidential debates by playing Al Gore and John Kerry during Bush's pre-debate prep.
But even if Gregg tempers his conservatism to better fit the White House's policy agenda, how different an influence will he be at Obama's conference table than Richardson? The examination, based on the two nominees' previous statements and actions, is after the jump.
By LUCAS GRINDLEY
The selection of Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., to head the Commerce Department shows how important the Obama administration expects it will be to forge bipartisan agreements, said Linda Bilmes, a former assistant secretary in President Clinton's Commerce Department.
"Just looking at what happened in the House last week with the stimulus package, you can see that old habits die hard in terms of partisanship and so forth. So I think that it's a welcome development that Senator Gregg will join this administration," she said in an interview mainly about how to prevent waste in the stimulus package and about her upcoming book on improving the federal workforce, titled The People Factor.
Bilmes praised Gregg's knowledge of budgeting and said it will be an asset while brokering compromises. "He was on the Senate Budget Committee. He's been in the appropriations world for years. I think he has a very good understanding of the budget, of the competing issues and so forth. And I think that the need -- in the economic crisis -- the need to try and create a bipartisan approach is a very, very important need. And I think that government will be stronger for having that."
Bilmes said that since her former agency focuses largely on science, "a lot of what the Commerce Department does is very bipartisan in nature."
Read more from Blimes in today's Insider Interview at NationalJournal.com. Check back next week for more about her book, which outlines how the government can spend $10 billion on efficiency to earn a $300 billion return.
By ALINA SELYUKH
In a move Sen. Judd Gregg described as "extraordinary," President Obama named the New Hampshire Republican as his nominee for secretary of Commerce, rounding out his economic team and filling one of the last two vacancies in the Cabinet.
"He's seen from all angles what makes our economy work for communities, businesses and families -- and what keeps it from working better," Obama said in his remarks this morning. Obama went on to praise his nominee for his fiscal conservatism and for "reaching across the aisle to get things done." Gregg will be the third Republican addition to the Cabinet, following Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Gregg served four terms in the House and two as New Hampshire's governor before running for Senate in 1992. He currently sits on the Commerce Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, a point Obama made during his introductory remarks.
Gregg spoke sharply about Obama during the campaign but today called the president's economic plan "bold and aggressive, comprehensive and effective." As the Commerce Department's "steward," Obama said, Gregg will "defy the winds of this crisis" by guiding his team to rebuild infrastructure, create jobs, promote industry and retain U.S. leadership in science and technology developments.
The nomination of the 61-year-old senior senator comes almost a month after the original nominee, Gov. Bill Richardson (D) of New Mexico, bowed out, citing a pending investigation into his administration's possible involvement with lucrative contracts to a political donor.
The news of Gregg's potential nomination had Democrats exulting over a chance to add another Senate seat to their caucus, giving them a supermajority there if they are officially awarded the disputed Minnesota contest. But Gregg proved unwilling to give up the seat if it would tip the Senate's balance further in the Democrats' favor. "I have made it clear to the Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle and to the governor that I would not leave the Senate if I felt my departure would cause a change in the makeup of the Senate," he said earlier this week. In his acceptance comments today, Gregg thanked New Hampshire's Gov. John Lynch (D) for "courtesy and courage in being willing to make this possible" by agreeing to appoint a Republican as Gregg's Senate successor.
Sure of the senate balance remaining stable, Gregg turned to bipartisanship appeals in his final remarks. "This is not a time when we should stand in our ideological corners and shout at each other. This is a time to govern and govern well," he said, accepting the nomination. "It was my obligation to say yes."
The president and his new Cabinet pick took no questions from the assembled press.
UPDATED at 12:55 p.m. to reflect Tom Daschle's announcement that he would withdraw his nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services.
