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.
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 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.
Last week on National Journal's Health Care Expert Blog, contributors weighed in on how both Tom Daschle's withdrawal and the economic stimulus package -- slated to be signed today by President Obama in Denver -- have affected plans to reform health care in 2009.
While rumors have been floating around about whom Obama will appoint as HHS secretary, the White House has acknowledged that "we are vetting," but would not elaborate further, according to the Washington Post. Some names that have surfaced include Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.
The outlook for health care reform in 2009 is not bright from the perspective of James P Gelfand, senior manager of health policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who noted Daschle's "unique" qualifications for the HHS post and argued that "his loss will definitely delay and cost the process." Ultimately, Gelfand said, lawmakers should not hastily push health care through this year.
Others, however, are not discouraged by either the delayed HHS appointment or the ailing economy. Ron Pollack, executive director for FamiliesUSA, said Daschle's withdrawal "will not significantly slow down the health care reform effort." He stressed that "reform rests with the President and the key committee chairs that have jurisdiction over health care" -- such as Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. These lawmakers have all expressed a commitment to achieving reform this year, Pollack said.
This assertion was confirmed by Sen. Baucus himself, who wrote on the blog that reform is "not only possible in 2009, it is imperative." Baucus, who chairs the Finance Committee, said that once the stimulus package was out of the way he would refocus the panel's attention onto health care.
Meanwhile, the new secretary of HHS, whoever it is, will be "confronted with two interrelated challenges," according to USC professor Leonard D. Schaeffer. He or she must 1) be knowledgeable about the politics of health care and 2) assess internally the management issues facing the department. For successful reform, Schaeffer writes, HHS "needs to change."
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 AMY HARDER
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder and Time's Mark Halperin are reporting that Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (D) may be the choice for Health and Human Services secretary. Ambinder writes that the governor, who is widely known for cutting costs more than pushing for universal health care, is in "serious discussions" with the White House about the position.
Obama would likely face serious pushback on Bredesen from left-leaning groups expecting universal health care legislation early in his administration. Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said that Bredesen "presided over the largest public health cutbacks in the history of our nation, and his actions are the antithesis of the president's desired direction for health care reform." How does he compare to Obama's first choice for the job? "He's the polar opposite of Tom Daschle," Pollack said. He added that he found it "very difficult to imagine" Obama picking Bredesen and could not think of any reason why he would.
Pollack mentioned some names that his organization would prefer to see leading the way on health care: Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D).
Bredesen's Almanac profile is available to subscribers here.
The pundit class is already buzzing with reaction to former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's withdrawal as Health and Human Services Secretary-designate today. Here are a few initial takes:
"This just in," quips the Dallas Morning News' Todd J. Gillman. "If you want a cabinet post, and you haven't paid your taxes, try to get confirmed before all the other nominees who haven't paid all their taxes."
"Why did Barack Obama stick by him so defiantly for so long?" wonders Philip Sherwell of the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph. "And in the current horrendous economic climate, how did he think this was playing outside the Beltway? And what happened to that much-vaunted vetting process?"
"Odds are that Daschle could have gutted out the hearings and won confirmation, but he and/or the Obama administration weren't willing to deal with the distraction and were concerned about his lobbyist-like activities," CBSNews.com editor in chief Daniel Farber asserts.
The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder questions whether Daschle withdrew too soon: "The fact remains that until late last night, not a single senator, Republican or Democrat, came out against Daschle's confirmation. This morning, there was only one -- Sen. Jim DeMint."
And in case anyone doubts the influence of the editorial boards, NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports that Daschle made his decision to withdraw after reading this morning's New York Times editorial calling upon him to do so.
For its part, however, the Times speculates -- in an update to that same editorial -- that Daschle may have been "propelled" to withdraw after Nancy Killefer, the former White House chief performance czar, withdrew her nomination to be White House chief performance officer today because of her own tax woes.And Moving On...
Reuters has a list of possible second choices for HHS, including former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
But The American Prospect's Ezra Klein doesn't think Dean or former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber will be nominated.
"One of the tactical arguments in favor of keeping Daschle was that it wasn't clear who had the combination of stature and health care knowledge to replace him." The New Republic's Noam Scheiber suggests Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
By GEORGE E. CONDON JR., CongressDaily
President Obama pulled former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's nomination to be HHS secretary today after Daschle said he did not want tax problems to distract from the need to reform America's health care system.
"I accept his decision with sadness and regret," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House. Obama said Daschle erred by not paying nearly $140,000 in back taxes and interest until last month, but said that mistake should not overshadow Daschle's long career in public service.
Daschle had been picked to be the architect of the Obama administration's high-profile effort to overhaul the health care system. Instead, his departure and the search for his replacement will bring that process to a halt.
In a statement issued late this morning, Daschle called the nomination "one of the signal honors of an improbable career." He said he asked to withdraw because the president needed someone who could lead "without distraction" and Congress needed to focus on efforts to revive the economy and provide health care rather than being sidetracked by his nomination.
Daschle's nomination had been viewed as a slam dunk when it was announced, given his former leadership of the body that would confirm him. But revelations that he had recently paid back taxes and penalties put the brakes on his confirmation.
The bulk of the back taxes stem from a car service provided by a private equity investment fund run by Leo Hindery Jr., a friend of Daschle's and a major Democratic fundraiser.
It took little more than an hour for the American Medical Association to register their approval of President-elect Obama's announcement this morning that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle was his pick for secretary of Health and Human Services. The group reserves special praise for Daschle's efforts to expand health care coverage; as HHS secretary, he is likely to serve as the administration's point person on health care reform.
The American Medical Association congratulates former Senator Tom Daschle on his nomination to head the Department of Health and Human Services and the new White House Office of Health Reform. The creation of this new position highlights the importance and priority of health system reform to the new administration. As we work to reform the health care system, former Senator Daschle has a firm grasp of the complex issues and has demonstrated a commitment to working with physicians and other stakeholders to strengthen the system.Like President-elect Obama and former Senator Daschle, the AMA is committed to covering all Americans and improving the quality, value and affordability of patient care. We look forward to working with former Senator Daschle and the new Congress and administration to enact health system reforms.
Barack Obama could put former Sen. Tom Daschle in charge of the Department of Health & Human Services, where he would presumably help steer any health care plan Obama puts forward. In a National Journal panel held during the Democratic National Convention this summer, Daschle talked about the problems with the nation's health care system and about what parts of Obama's agenda would be easiest to pass.
By KIRK VICTOR
Senators, even those who dislike one another intensely, are known for their formality and graciousness towards one another on the Senate floor. They try to maintain that façade as much as possible in public.
Of course, there have been some famous feuds that burst into the open. Who can forget the bitter hostility between New Jersey Democratic Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Torricelli in the late 1990s? They even got into a well-publicized fight at a Democratic retreat in front of their colleagues and staffers.
But such outbursts are the exception. More often the enmity is submerged, out of view. So it was no surprise that when former Sen. Tom Daschle's name was leaked as the likely new secretary of Health and Human Services, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., hailed the appointment even though the two men had grown to dislike each other intensely before Daschle lost his Senate seat in 2004.
Yesterday, Baucus called President-elect Obama's choice of Daschle "a great nomination" and went on to say, "Having Senator Daschle at HHS and as the point person for the Obama administration on health care would only improve the chances of success."
Yet it wasn't all that long ago, when Daschle, then the Democratic Senate leader, was angry that Baucus had strayed from the party position and supported President Bush's top domestic priority, steep tax cuts. As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., described it in his book, The Good Fight, published earlier this year:
Baucus was the only Westerner to vote against [South Dakotan] Daschle in his race for Democratic leader in 1994, which Daschle had only won by a single vote -- and they had been driven farther apart on the issue of taxes. By the end, they really couldn't stand each other, and had had several extremely testy exchanges on the floor and in private as a result.
Fast-forward to today, and it is a tad ironic that Daschle will be going before Baucus' committee, which not only is responsible for his confirmation hearings but also will be a key player in health care reform, a priority for the Obama administration.
Barack Obama's reported decision to ask former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to head the Department of Health and Human Services was batted around on the political talk shows Wednesday night and this morning.
By CORINE HEGLAND
The Obama transition team has announced policy working groups in seven areas: economic; education; energy and environment; health care; immigration; national security; and technology, innovation and government reform. Full biographies of the lucky wonks leading the groups are up on the Change.Gov Web site. The CliffsNotes version follows.
Economic
Education
Energy & Environment
Health Care
Immigration
National Security
Technology, Innovation & Government Reform
CNN and Roll Call are reporting that former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama's offer to head up the Department of Health and Human Services, citing sources "close to Daschle."
Daschle, who has been an adviser to Obama throughout his campaign, was considered a leading contender for the position. He is also heading up the Obama team's health care policy working group, tasked with determining how to translate Obama's priorities into specific policy proposals.
For more on Daschle's career, see his Almanac of American Politics profile here.
