By CONGRESSDAILY STAFF
President Obama announced Monday that he will nominate Neal Wolin to be deputy secretary at the Treasury Department and Lael Brainard to be Treasury undersecretary for international affairs.
The White House said it will keep Stuart Levey, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in that position. The appointments, if confirmed by the Senate, will fill three of the four most senior positions beneath Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Wolin is a former general counsel at Treasury in the Clinton administration, and briefly served in the White House as deputy counsel to Obama on economic issues.
Brainard is vice president and founder of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution.
President Obama offered the nation a mea culpa this week after two highly placed nominees bowed out over tax trouble, but that didn't end the talk about how his campaign rhetoric promising a cleaner Washington has held up during his presidency. National Journal this week asked Political Insiders and top political bloggers how much damage has been done to Obama's image by the controversies surrounding Tom Daschle, Timothy Geithner and William Lynn.
A plurality of Democratic Insiders and a majority of left-leaning bloggers said Obama's image has sustained "only a little" damage, with "some" damage a strong second. "Obama, having made rookie mistakes, has owned up to them, which is the best way to make them go away quickly," said David Kravitz of Blue Mass. Group, who voted for "only a little" damage. However, one Democratic Insider who voted the same way cautioned, "If the policies he is identified with work, these are footnotes. If the policies don't work, these become part of a new narrative."
Pluralities of Republican Insiders and right-leaning bloggers agreed Obama has seen "some" damage. Second place among the Insiders was "only a little," but second for the bloggers was "a great deal." One Republican Insider said, "Outside the Beltway, it is chipping away at the perception that President Obama is above the fray. Inside the Beltway, it undermines the sense that his team does not make careless mistakes." David Kopel of The Volokh Conspiracy, writing about Daschle, argued that "it helps Obama in the long run that he will not be in the Cabinet, since he would have been a visible link between the administration and the Rangel/Dodd/Frank congressional culture of corruption."
By DAVID HERBERT
President Obama torched Wall Street executives during a morning press conference to announce that firms receiving "extraordinary" federal aid must limit CEO pay at $500,000 a year.
"We all need to take responsibility," said Obama, who was flanked by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses. As I said last week, that's the height of irresponsibility. It's shameful."
The new Treasury Department guidelines cap executive pay at $500,000 a year for financial firms receiving "exceptional assistance" (as opposed to more widely available capital access programs). Any amount beyond that must be made in restricted stock options that can be cashed in only after the government has been paid back.
Obama also used the press conference to make another pitch for his stimulus package, which hasn't won over a critical mass of lawmakers. The plan as it stands now is not perfect, he admitted, "but let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential. Let's show people all over our country who are looking for leadership in this difficult time that we are equal to the task."
Seventy-five percent of Americans favor passing a package in some form, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday, but 54 percent either want to make changes or reject it entirely.
UPDATED.
The Senate voted to confirm Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary late this afternoon by a relatively narrow margin of 60-34, after a nomination process prolonged by revelations of unpaid payroll taxes. Among those voting nay were Democrats Robert Byrd of West Virginia and Russell Feingold of Wisconsin, as well as Tom Harkin of Iowa, who announced on the floor today that he was concerned not only about Geithner's tax issues but also about "his role in the current financial meltdown" as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Within hours after the vote, Geithner was sworn in at the Treasury Department by Vice President Joe Biden, with President Obama looking on. Obama said the expedited ceremony was necessary given the magnitude and urgency of the financial crisis. "Congratulations, Tim," he said. "You've got your work cut out for you."
Check back with Lost In Transition tomorrow for more on Geithner's confirmation.
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.
The Senate Finance Committee today easily approved Timothy Geithner's nomination to become Treasury secretary, but only after asserting that his failure to pay his taxes years ago could have disqualified him if his leadership at Treasury were not needed to deal with the financial crisis. The committee voted 18-5 to send Geithner's nomination to the full Senate for a vote next week. Republican committee members again voiced concerns that Geithner, who would oversee the IRS as Treasury Secretary, failed to pay all of his taxes between 2000 and 2004 while he worked at the International Monetary Fund and repaid the full $34,000 when he was being considered for the Cabinet post.
The complete story is available to CongressDaily subscribers.
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."
Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner's onetime housekeeper lost her immigration status while working for him, and he failed to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001 to 2004, two black eyes that President-elect Barack Obama nevertheless said should not jeopardize Geithner's nomination.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., called committee members to his office this afternoon to discuss the matter before confirmation hearings begin Thursday for Geithner, currently president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Obama surrogates argued that the infractions were minor and should not tarnish Geithner's candidacy.
"He's dedicated his career to our country and served with honor, intelligence and distinction," incoming White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today. "That service should not be tarnished by honest mistakes, which, upon learning of them, he quickly addressed. He made a common mistake on his taxes, and was unaware that his part-time housekeeper's work authorization expired for the last three months of her employment."
Geithner would not be the first Cabinet appointee to be derailed by "immigration woes." Bernard Kerik, a Homeland Security pick for President Bush in 2004; Linda Chavez, Bush's first choice for Labor secretary; and Zoe Baird, President Clinton's first attorney general nominee, were all felled by revelations that they had employed illegal immigrants.
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.
As Barack Obama begins to assemble his team, the pundits are weighing in on his selections and what they may say about his leadership style. Here is a sampling of Tuesday's transition-related op-eds.
By MARY GILBERT
In anticipation of President-elect Barack Obama's noon press conference announcing his new economic team, bloggers are chattering about what his selections say about Obama's intentions for getting the economy going again.
Andrew Busch is relieved to see Obama pick his team early and gives the Obama camp credit for "listening to what the markets have been saying." He adds, "Clearly, the incoming Obama administration wants a continuation of the aggressive polices and programs that are in place to deal with the credit crisis."
Chris Bowers at OpenLeft believes that the selection of Timothy Geithner for Treasury secretary calls Obama's dedication to change into question: "Really? Obama is going with someone who is currently executing the bailout?" That "strikes me as less than change-y."
Lawrence Kudlow, a television commentator and former Reagan economic adviser, relates that Geithner "is highly regarded by those who worked with him as a very smart, sharp, and insightful player." He highlights Geithner's youth -- he is 47 -- and points out that "to the country at large and most of the Washington political establishment, he's a new face. Yes indeed, change is coming."
Ezra Klein at the American Prospect claims that Obama's selection of Peter Orszag as director of the Office of Management and Budget shows that the president-elect is serious about tackling health care. Orszag has "shown an almost single-minded focus on health care reform" during his time at the Congressional Budget Office, he said, and is preparing to release two books on the subject. Klein points out that Orszag has even taken to his own blog to refute the idea that the current economic crisis should put the brakes on a reform agenda.
U.S. News & World Report's James Pethokoukis defends the team's free-market viewpoint: "These guys are not Marxists, protectionists, or believers in a return to 90 percent marginal tax rates. They are believers in free trade," but they do believe in a larger government role in the economy -- creating a "safety net" for workers -- and in higher taxes to pay for it.
