Obama Cabinet’s ‘Stumbling Start’ May Be Distraction on Economy
By Julianna Goldman
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- No drama Obama is no more.
The surprise withdrawal of Senator Judd Gregg as the nominee for U.S. commerce secretary was the latest setback in a turbulent start for President Barack Obama’s administration after a campaign marked by operational discipline.
Gregg, 61, a New Hampshire Republican, yesterday became the third Cabinet appointee to withdraw, along with Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and former Senator Tom Daschle. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was confirmed only after coming under fire for underpaying federal taxes -- one of three nominees to face tax-related questions.
Obama’s “stumbling start” with his appointments has the potential to provide a distraction when the focus should be on issues such as the economic-stimulus plan and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Clyde Wilcox, a government professor at Georgetown University in Washington.
“It’s a real problem that can derail him,” Wilcox said. “But at the end of the day, if the economy turns around in two years, no one’s going to remember this.”
Gregg said he was withdrawing because he couldn’t embrace Obama’s policies and needed to be his “own person.” His departure leaves Obama -- who once admonished his campaign staff to avoid “drama” -- with one fewer Republican in his Cabinet, which had been a symbol of the bipartisanship that the president promised to bring to Washington.
Obama, 47, who has run into resistance from Republican lawmakers on his economic-recovery plan, told reporters after Gregg’s announcement that he would still pursue that goal.
“I’m going to keep on working at this, and eventually we’re going to break down some of these barriers,” he said aboard Air Force One. “I’m an eternal optimist.”
My Own Person
Gregg said at an evening news conference that he had no personal disagreements with the president and expected to help “carry his water” on some legislation.
At the same time, he said, “I’ve been my own person for 30 years. It would be very difficult, day in and day out, to serve in this Cabinet or any Cabinet for that matter.”
Gregg said he still expected to work with Obama. “I know that he’s going to be a strong and effective and good president.”
Other Republicans didn’t see it that way.
“President Obama came to office on the promise of change and bipartisanship -- yet as early opportunities have come to work with members of both parties, talk of bipartisanship remained just that -- talk,” said Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican.
Census Flap
In addition to reservations about the stimulus plan, Issa said Gregg departed because the administration was trying to bring the Census under more direct control by having the bureau’s director report to the White House as well as the commerce secretary, who traditionally oversees the operation.
That move drew criticism from some congressional Republicans who accused the administration of trying to politicize the decennial population count, which is used to determine congressional representation.
While Issa called it “the injection of Chicago-style politics into the nonpartisan Census process,” Gregg said it played little role in his decision.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel rejected the idea that friction over the stimulus and the Census was the catalyst for Gregg’s decision.
“I believe he seriously wanted to do the commerce job,” Emanuel told reporters yesterday in his office. “He went into it eyes open and realized after a while that it was just not going to be, as he said, the right fit.
“If I said it wasn’t a disappointment, that would lack any credibility,” Emanuel said.
Gregg Volunteered
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement that Gregg had offered his name for the commerce position and “was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace and move forward with the president’s agenda.”
When it became clear that Gregg “was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways,” Gibbs said in a statement. “We regret that he has had a change of heart.”
Emanuel said Gregg informed the administration on Feb. 9 that he was having second thoughts. Gregg told Obama of his intention to withdraw at a White House meeting on Feb. 11, Emanuel said.
Early Exits
The new administration has been shaken by a series of departures.
Daschle, a former Senate majority leader who was tapped to become health and human services secretary, and Nancy Killefer, set to become Obama’s chief oversight officer, withdrew after they admitted to tax mistakes. Hilda Solis, Obama’s pick for labor secretary, has faced questions about tax liens on her husband’s business.
Geithner was confirmed by the closest margin for a Treasury secretary since World War II after disclosure that he had to pay almost $50,000 in back taxes.
Richardson, Obama’s first choice for commerce, backed out because of a federal investigation of New Mexico’s government.
Obama’s advisers had a simple explanation for Gregg’s exit.
“Life is complicated,” senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters yesterday.
To which press secretary Gibbs interjected: “and strange.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Washington at Jgoldman6@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 13, 2009 00:01 EST |
