With just four days under his belt, the Pentagon's new head of acquisition is sifting through the massive job ahead of him and establishing a to-do list that includes reviews of major procurements.
Ashton Carter, who was sworn in as the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics on Monday, said Thursday that much of what would have been his first order of duty was accomplished during the lead-up to Defense Secretary Robert Gates' release of the department's budget request in early April. Gates recommended major changes in the Pentagon's procurement priorities, including cuts to a number of programs.
Nonetheless, Carter said examining troubled programs and acting on Gates' plan is his first priority. The new acquisition chief plans to review all the department's projects gradually to ensure they are being properly executed.
His second focus will be on logistics, an area he said sometimes is overlooked. With two ongoing wars and a major shift in combat operations, Carter said, attention to logistics will be crucial.
"What's ringing in my ears is the secretary of Defense's often-expressed frustration that the troops are at war but the building as a whole is not," Carter said. "I don't want him to feel that way about his acquisition operation and logistics operation."
Among the greatest challenges will be refocusing resources from Iraq to Afghanistan in President Obama's timeframe.
"We have quite a lot of stuff to move out of Iraq and into Afghanistan ... that's a non-trivial matter both to conceive and to execute, and we can't afford not to meet those timetables," Carter said.
Acquisition reform will be another priority, he noted. Carter already is looking into the appropriate role of contractors "from Blackwater security in theater to pink badges at the Pentagon" and said he wants to improve the government's ability to acquire products quickly.
Presidential and congressional interest in reforms will be an asset, he said.
"If it is going to be different than other efforts at acquisition reform, it's going to be because of that constellation of people who are interested in taking some risk to do things differently if they can see the payoff," Carter said.
By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
The Senate confirmed Ashton Carter to be the Pentagon's top weapons buyer on a voice vote Thursday night. Carter's nomination to become the assistant secretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics had been stalled by Alabama's two Republican senators over concerns about the competition for aerial refueling tankers. Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby lifted their holds after they received assurances from Carter and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the Pentagon is committed to a fair and open competition for the tanker.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and EADS, the European consortium behind Airbus, had planned to build the Air Force tanker in Mobile, Ala., after winning the lucrative contract last year. GAO ultimately upheld a protest filed by Boeing Co., the losing bidder, and the Pentagon decided to reopen the competition. Defense officials have said they expect to restart the competition this year, with a contract award early next year. "I recognize the need for the secretary to have a confirmed acquisition chief to move the tanker replacement process forward," Shelby said in a statement.
By ROBERT BRODSKY, Government Executive
Bush administration political appointees at the Defense Department have until the end of the week to sign President Obama's ethics pledge, or they will be asked to resign, according to internal correspondence.
In an April 7 e-mail, Robert Rangel, special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, gave all Bush holdovers until the close of business on Friday to sign the agreement, which puts restrictions on post-government employment.
Politicos who refuse to comply will be required to leave their position by the end of April.
"Those who choose not to sign the ethics pledge and leave before April 30, 2009 (or those who choose to sign the pledge and are replaced after April 30, 2009), will be asked to submit their resignations, and the department will treat their separations as involuntary," Rangel wrote.
Continue reading DoD Gives Ethics Ultimatum To Bush Holdovers.
Continue reading A Precedent For 'Unprecedented' Bipartisanship.
By KATHERINE MCINTIRE PETERS, Government Executive
Anyone looking for a clue as to how Defense Secretary Robert Gates may pursue his responsibilities under the Obama administration should pick up the January issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. In an article titled "A Balanced Strategy: Reprogramming the Pentagon for a New Age," Gates spells out his thinking on issues from the war in Iraq to modernization plans.
"To fail -- or to be seen to fail -- in either Iraq or Afghanistan would be a disastrous blow to U.S. credibility, both among friends and allies and among potential adversaries," Gates writes, dispelling any notion that he might support a speedy withdrawal of troops from Iraq if such reductions mean worsening security there.
"In Iraq, the number of U.S. combat units there will decline over time -- as it was going to do no matter who was elected president in November," he writes. "Still, there will continue to be some kind of a U.S. advisory and counterterrorism effort in Iraq for years to come."
With the Pentagon gearing up to conduct its next Quadrennial Defense Review -- a broad examination of how the services are structured and equipped to meet emerging challenges -- Gates' essay provides a sense of the direction the review is likely to take.
The bulk of Gates' concerns center on military modernization. He notes that higher defense spending will not eliminate national security risks, and says entrenched support for conventional modernization programs at the Pentagon, in industry and Congress is problematic.
Continue reading Gates Outlines Commitment To Military Reform.
By KEVIN FRIEDL
Recent polling has turned up plenty of good news for the incoming administration, as majorities from both parties as well as independents say they approve of how Barack Obama has run the transition. Even Republican political insiders gave Obama's four biggest appointments passing grades in National Journal's newest Insiders poll. And public confidence in the president-elect has remained consistently high.
But if there's a bug in Obama's lemonade, it's that his staunchest supporters during the election -- liberals and Democrats -- are also the groups he's most at risk of turning off with centrist, pragmatic appointments and policies. According to Gallup tracking data taken before and after Obama rolled out his national security team, Democrats' confidence in Obama dropped 3 percentage points after he announced the nominations of Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of State and Robert Gates for Defense. That measure among liberals fell 7 points.
To be sure, neither bloc is in danger of bolting the Obama camp: Ninety-one percent of Democrats still expressed confidence in Obama after the announcements, as did 84 percent of liberals. But with some voices on the left becoming increasingly agitated by Obama's performance so far, the transition team will no doubt be keeping a wary eye on its left flank.
Interestingly, while Obama's time as president-elect has seen his support erode among liberals, it's come with no commensurate rise in confidence from conservatives or Republicans, who expressed confidence in him at 46 and 33 percent, respectively.
(Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
Atlantic Media Political Director Ronald Brownstein spoke with former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski for today's edition of "National Journal On Air." During the course of their conversation, Brzezinski touched on the incoming foreign policy team, controlling weapons of mass destruction and Obama's global popularity.
Related: Carter Official Jody Powell Rates Clinton Pick
NJ: President-elect Obama this week named the key members of his national security team: Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates and General Jim Jones. What was your assessment of the team he pulled together?
Brzezinski: I think it's a very strong team in terms of individual capabilities and personal experience. Each one adds an important dimension to our ability to handle foreign affairs. But there is, I think, a potential problem, namely, because they're such strong individuals there could be some problems with coordination, especially since in some respects both the new secretary of State and the retained secretary of Defense have had different perspectives in foreign policy issues than the president-elect. So a great deal depends on the degree to which the president, working through the national security adviser, General Jones, can impose a sense of direction, can impose central strategic control over the shaping of foreign policy.
NJ: You know, one thing that's interesting about this team is that unlike many presidents, he has not chosen long-time confidantes for any of these three positions. I mean, none of these three are people that he has spent enormous time with over the years or were in the foxhole with him, as it were, in the campaign. Is that a challenge?
Brzezinski: Well, first of all it's understandable, because he hasn't been dealing with foreign affairs. His associates have not been really concerned with foreign affairs. His political associates have been concerned with his political career in Illinois and then nationally, and his focus has been largely on domestic issues. But it is a problem. Sure, it is a problem, and that's why he compensates for it by having strong individuals who presume to know something about these subjects and a very strong national security adviser in our former NATO commander and Marine Corps commandant who should be able to crack the whip.
Read the complete interview here.
If the left and right can find common ground on any of President-elect Barack Obama's major Cabinet picks so far, it's on Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner. Top political bloggers and political Insiders polled by National Journal this week are in closer agreement on Geithner than on three other high-profile picks: Hillary Rodham Clinton at State, Robert Gates at Defense and Eric Holder as attorney general.
Geithner's selection rated B+ grades from both Democratic and Republican Insiders; left-leaning bloggers gave him a B and right-leaners a B-. Commenters noted his involvement in the financial bailout talks as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank -- James Joyner of Outside The Beltway said he "presided over the meltdown of the financial sector in New York but is oddly considered a rock star in financial circles." A Democratic Insider said, "Time will tell whether the Geithner-[Henry] Paulson approach has been the correct one, but the economic crisis needed someone that insiders respect and support, and the Geithner pick has sent the right signals to the Hill, Wall Street, and the boardrooms."
The highest grade given to any pick was Clinton's A- from Democratic Insiders and Gates' A- from the GOP Insiders. "Her detractors will be pleasantly surprised at how well she works in his [Obama's] and our behalf," wrote one Democratic Insider who gave Clinton an A. One Republican who gave Gates an A said, "This tells me Obama is a realist, and won't buckle at the knees each time the Far Left comes calling."
The lowest grade was the D- that right-leaning bloggers gave to Holder, an official in the Clinton Justice Department under Janet Reno. "Holder served as No. 2 to one of the worst, most lawless attorneys general in U.S. history," said David Kopel of the Volokh Conspiracy. "His role and his lies in the Elian Gonzalez abduction were despicable."
Full results of both polls -- including Insiders' and bloggers' thoughts on an auto industry bailout -- are free on NationalJournal.com.
President-elect Obama's national security nominees have won praise from key Senate Democrats and appear to be headed toward smooth confirmations, CongressDaily reports today.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin praised Defense Secretary Robert Gates' "actions in restoring a measure of accountability in the Pentagon" and highlighted his call for Afghans to increase their security role by doubling their army's size.
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joe Lieberman called Janet Napolitano a "strong nominee" for Homeland Security secretary and said he looks forward to getting the Arizona governor's "perspective on the anti-terrorism responsibilities of the department."
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy suggested attorney general nominee Eric Holder will ally with Democrats who want to further overhaul the Justice Department in the wake of the firing of U.S. attorneys and a perception that the department is too politicized.
The full report is available to CongressDaily subscribers.
By MARY GILBERT
President-elect Barack Obama presented his new foreign policy team at a press conference this morning. Most of his selections had been anticipated for the last week or so, but the blogs are abuzz with thoughts on what these picks mean for Obama's approach to international issues.
By AMY HARDER
Following in the wake of last week's Mumbai terrorist attacks, President-elect Barack Obama announced his national security team at a press conference this morning in Chicago. With unrest between India and Pakistan rising over the weekend, Obama addressed the situation briefly but declined to comment further when pressed by a reporter.
"This is one of those times that I reiterate that there is one president at a time," the president-elect said. "We will be engaged in delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks. It would be inappropriate for me to comment, but what I can so unequivocally is that both myself and the team that stands beside are absolutely committed eliminating the threat of terrorism."
That team includes several appointments that had been rumored for weeks -- Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security Department secretary, Obama's campaign foreign policy adviser Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations and Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser.
After announcing Clinton as his secretary of State, Obama was asked about "belittling" her international experience while on the campaign trial. "This is fun for the press to try to stir up whatever quotes were formed over the course of the campaign," Obama quipped in response. "If you look at statements that [Clinton] and I have made outside of the heat of the campaign, we share a view that America has to be safe and secure." He added that in making his decision, he never experienced a "light bulb moment"; rather, once their primary battle was over, he started thinking of ways they could work together.
Continue reading Obama Stresses Pragmatism Of Security Appointees.
(Credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
The Obama-Biden transition team this morning made official several key appointments, confirming reports that the president-elect was seeking Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State, Eric Holder for attorney general and Robert Gates as secretary of Defense.
The team also confirmed that Arizona governor -- and early Obama endorser -- Janet Napolitano was Obama's pick for DHS chief, and named retired Gen. Jim Jones as national security adviser and Susan Rice as ambassador to the U.N. Combined with previously announced names, today's rollout brings the total number of announced picks from the Obama team to 42.
Check back shortly for coverage and video of Obama's press conference unveiling his national security team.
Complete release available after the jump.
Continue reading Clinton, Holder, Gates Officially Announced.
