By DARREN GOODE, CONGRESSDAILY
President Obama's pick for the No. 2 spot at EPA withdrew his nomination Wednesday on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearing amid a probe into a nonprofit foundation where he was previously on the board of directors.
Jon Cannon, a former senior EPA official and currently an environmental law professor at the University of Virginia, said in a statement that while he was not personally being investigated, the scrutiny surrounding the now-defunct America's Clean Water Foundation was a "distraction" to EPA.
Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member James Inhofe, R-Okla., said committee staff questioned Cannon at a recent meeting regarding a February 2007 EPA inspector general report that said the foundation mismanaged at least $25 million in federal grants it was awarded between 1998 and 2003.
But he called Cannon's withdrawal "very surprising" and that he would have had Inhofe's backing if he had not withdrawn his nomination. "We told him we don't believe this would be anything that would hold you up," Dempsey said.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement that she is "disappointed" and that the administration "will move quickly to identify a new candidate."
The EPA IG report said the foundation had not complied with federal grant regulations. It also violated conflict-of-interest rules by giving a $50,000 contract to the Grizzle Company, a Washington, D.C., consulting firm run by Charles Grizzle, who was vice president of the foundation's board of directors at the time.
Cannon held a variety of positions at EPA under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, eventually rising to become the agency's general counsel under Clinton.
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 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 KEVIN FRIEDL
Calling alternative energy "a leading priority of my presidency and a defining test of our time," President-elect Obama this afternoon announced his top energy and environmental nominations at a press conference held in Chicago's Drake Hotel. The choices were no less consequential for being entirely expected, signaling a commitment from the Obama administration to bolster an enervated Environmental Protection Agency and encourage alternative energy and green job creation.
As was widely rumored in the run-up to today's announcements, Obama named Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, as his pick to run the Department of Energy, and Clinton-era EPA administrator Carol Browner as his "energy czar." In that position, Browner will coordinate policy on energy and climate change. Rounding out the Obama "green team" were Lisa Jackson as his choice for EPA administrator and Nancy Sutley to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
The presser was held after an earlier meeting Obama held with his national security team, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell and Vice President-elect Joe Biden. Biden accompanied the president-elect to the Drake, where he landed a rare speaking part, praising predecessor Al Gore, with whom he and Obama recently met, and taking a not-so-subtle jab at the office's current holder.
"I pledge to the American people that the office of the vice president will no longer be an obstacle to environmental protection, but it will be, as it was under Al Gore, a force for leaping ahead," Biden said.
As the presser wound down and Obama fielded two questions in a row about his energy policy, it appeared as though he would be able to avoid any mention of disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But reporters managed to slip one past the goalie, asking Obama to address reports that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with Blagojevich's office.
Obama sidestepped the question, repeating his statement that he had no contact with the governor's office or "anybody in the governor's office" and that his staff hadn't done anything "inappropriate." Referring to a statement released earlier today by his transition team, Obama said they had conducted a review of their office's contact with the governor's office but were holding it at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office.
"This appalling set of circumstances that we've seen arise had nothing to do with my office, and those facts will be forthcoming to all of you in due course," Obama said. "We just want to make sure that we're not interfering with an ongoing and active investigation."
Check in with National Journal's Energy and Environment blog to see what our panel of experts has to say about Obama's nominees.
