By AMY HARDER
Do President Obama's White House "czars" have too much power? Should they face Senate confirmation? These concerns have been raised by a growing number of observers as the president's team of czars continues to expand.
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., sent a letter to Obama on Feb. 23, cautioning that "the rapid and easy accumulation of power by the White House staff can threaten the constitutional system of checks and balances." He urged the president to limit the power of these high-level White House officials who are not cleared by Congress.
In the Washington Post this week, Yale law and political science professor Bruce Ackerman went a step further, arguing that czars should in fact undergo Senate confirmation. Ackerman noted that if Tom Daschle had been appointed only to the health czar post and not as Health and Human Services secretary, his tax problems might never have surfaced and he would be well on his way to leading the charge for health care reform. Furthermore, Ackerman wrote, while HHS Secretary-designate Kathleen Sebelius goes through Senate confirmation, her White House counterpart, Nancy-Ann DeParle, will "escape scrutiny" despite the fact that "DeParle will also play a commanding role in health care reform, and her record is less well known than that of Sebelius."
In an interview with Lost In Transition, Ackerman reiterated his concerns. "The idea of appointing a large number of czars -- loyalists to the president -- is like a king's courtship," he said. "They're highly intelligent, and they're 100 percent loyal to the president, and [he] never has to justify their selection to anybody else."
Ackerman emphasized that no particular Obama appointment compelled him to write the piece. But he said that this president's increased use of czars, coupled with former Vice President Dick Cheney's powerful "policy czar" role in the Bush administration, indicate a disturbing trend in the executive branch. "The creation of this hyper-politicized staff in the White House is both an example and a caution about the uses and abuses of the president's power," Ackerman said.
On the other hand, Ackerman also acknowledged that the Senate confirmation process itself is "self-indulgent" and convoluted. "The Senate has to get much more serious and professional about this," he said. "It's horrible to have a government for six months that simply has most high-policy positions vacant. It's just unacceptable." Next week, the Woodrow Wilson Center will be hosting a panel discussion on possible reform of the confirmation process. Check back with Lost In Transition next week for more on this subject.
By AMY HARDER
(Credit: Rick Bloom/National Journal)
President Obama today announced his nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) as secretary of Health and Human Services, filling a vacancy that opened up almost a month ago when Tom Daschle pulled out amid revelations that he had failed to pay his back taxes.
Obama also named Nancy-Ann DeParle, administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration during the Clinton administration, as his choice to lead the newly minted Office of Health Reform. Since leaving HCFA in 2000, DeParle has been serving on corporate boards and working at a New York private equity firm, Harvard University and Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Obama touted Sebelius' willingness to work across the aisle and DeParle's extensive experience on health care regulatory issues. Sebelius has "bridged the partisan divide and worked a Republican legislature to get things done for the people of Kansas," the president said at a White House press conference. She "knows health care inside and out."
"Kathleen and Nancy share my resolve," the president said. "I look forward to working with them as we begin the urgent and immediate task of ensuring quality, affordable health care for every American."
He also underscored the importance of working with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., lawmakers the administration deems crucial in passing health care.
Sebelius was re-elected in 2006 for her second term as governor, and she endorsed Obama in January 2008. Before her governorship, she served eight years as Kansas insurance commissioner. (Subscribers can read her full profile in the Almanac of American Politics here.) While Daschle was slated to fill both the HHS post and the White House health czar, Obama has chosen to split the role between two appointments.
In her remarks at the press conference, Sebelius drew parallels between the ailing economy and health care, stressing that "we can't fix the economy without fixing health care." She went on to emphasize her commitment to working across the aisle. "This isn't a partisan challenge; it's an American challenge, and one that we can't afford to ignore," she said.
Continue reading Obama Announces Sebelius For HHS, DeParle As Health Czar.
