Though congressional lawmakers avoided a federal government shutdown by agreeing to a short-term funding extension late Friday and early Saturday, there’s still concern that the deal negotiated between President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to cut $38.5 billion of government More…
In a 249-179 vote, the House of Representatives last week passed an amendment to its budget plan that targets policy czars in the Obama administration (full text here). Specifically, it would remove funding for the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change and Director of the More…
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is keeping her focus on the important issues: an amendment that would increase congressional control of “czars.”
Her amendment, which she first tried to attach to an appropriations bill without success, would also require their offices to submit periodic reports about their activities to congressional
I reported earlier this week that Republicans were holding up a vote to confirm Surgeon General nominee Regina Benjamin because, basically, of arguments over health care reform. In the context of Democrats buckling to Republican demands and holding two hearings on the constitutionality of “czars,” it seemed especially strange. More…
I’ve just gotten my hands on the transcript of last Thursday’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on czars. There’s a lot in there, but the first thing I want to highlight is the dramatically incoherent testimony of Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.). I don’t know where to More…
The anti-”czar” frenzy has faded a bit, despite two Senate hearings on the extremely flimsy controversy. Today, Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) wades back in and makes a hash of things.
“Why does President Obama appear so eager to appoint ‘czars,’” he asks, “while leaving positions requiring Senate confirmation unfilled?” More…
As Greg Sargent first reported, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) will preside over a hearing on presidential “czars” in his Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. The hearing will be this Thursday, and the scheduled witnesses are Tom Ridge, George Mason University Prof. James Pfiffner, former OLC Lee More…
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is going on the air for his 2010 re-election campaign, running two minute-long ads. One image that jumps out, from the ad titled “Hard Work”:
I’ve been tracking the progress of Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-Ga.) Czar Accountability and Reform (CZAR) Act of 2009, the legislation that would kill the salaries of Obama appointees not confirmed by the Senate. As of today, Kingston has found 116 co-sponsors, including Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the party’s whip, More…
Kate Phillips has all you need to know about yesterday’s hearing on the “constitutionality of czars,” called by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) and taking the form of a friendly dialogue between him, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and some witnesses. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also appeared, asking questions that were more More…
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