Obama Appointments

Obama Judicial Appointments Barely Moving Because Of GOP Blocks

Washington Post | Michael A. Fletcher | Posted 10.16.2009 | Politics


President Obama has not made significant progress in his plan to infuse federal courts with a new cadre of judges, and liberal activists are beginning...

Industry Lobbyist Is the Wrong Choice to Head Truck Safety Agency

Dan Becker and James Gerstenzang | Posted 10.08.2009 | Politics


Dan Becker and James Gerstenzang

The FMCSA head should not come from the very industry the agency is required to regulate, especially given the trucking industry's obstructionist positions on commonsense health and safety issues.

Senate Republicans Holding Up Key Obama Nominees

Washington Post | Ruth Marcus | Posted 10.07.2009 | Politics


Miriam Sapiro was nominated to be deputy U.S. trade representative in April. The Senate Finance Committee voted -- unanimously -- to confirm her in Ju...

Obama Has Fewer Than Half of His Top Appointees In Place

nytimes.com | PETER BAKER | Posted 09.23.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON -- As President Obama tries to turn around a summer of setbacks, he finds himself still playing without most of his own team. Seven months ...

Obama Names Fay Hartog-Levin Ambassador To Holland, Third Chicagoan Picked For Ambassadorship

Chicago Tribune | John McCormick | Posted 08.03.2009 | Chicago


President Barack Obama has picked his third Chicagoan for an ambassadorship, naming a consultant from a politically connected public affairs and media...

A Muppet in President Obama's Court

Russ Baker | Posted 06.29.2009 | Politics


Russ Baker

Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why a man associated with the Muppets should be ambassador to France?

Post-Decision Day in California: What's next in the battle against Prop 8?

Ted Johnson, Maegan Carberry, Teresa Valdez Klein | Posted 06.27.2009 | Politics


Ted Johnson, Maegan Carberry, Teresa Valdez Klein

What gives, Mr. President? You can commend yourself for nominating a Latina to the Supreme Court while you totally ignore another minority group that desperately needs leadership?

What the Supreme Court Appointment Could Mean for Gay Rights

Emma Ruby-Sachs | Posted 06.13.2009 | Politics


Emma Ruby-Sachs

The debate over whether Sullivan or Karlan could make it through the approval process given their sexual orientation is an important one, and it illustrates just how far America has to go towards tolerance and equality.

Some advice for Aneesh Chopra, Obama's New CTO

Don Tapscott | Posted 05.22.2009 | Politics


Don Tapscott

President Obama has announced the long awaited choice for his Chief Technology Officer -- Aneesh Chopra. Says Tim O'Reilly "Aneesh Chopra is a rock s...

Duckworth Nomination Held Up By GOP Senator

AP | KIMBERLY HEFLING | Posted 05.04.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — A Republican senator has delayed President Barack Obama's nomination of Tammy Duckworth, an injured Iraq war helicopter pilot, to b...

Newt Gingrich Got It Right: The Battle Over the Courts

Martin Garbus | Posted 04.18.2009 | Politics


Martin Garbus

Isn't it clear by now that bipartisanship is and always has been an illusion?

FBI Raids Obama Technology Chief's Former Office, Worker Arrested

AP | DEVLIN BARRETT and NEDRA PICKLER | Posted 04.12.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — An aide to President Barack Obama is on leave from his White House job after the FBI raided his old District of Columbia government...

My Appointments for the Supreme Court

Christian Nwachukwu, Jr. | Posted 04.06.2009 | Politics


Christian Nwachukwu, Jr.

Here is my wish list for Supreme Court justices. Is this list biased? Doubtless. I did not undertake this exercise as either journalist or adviser, but rather, as citizen.

Obama Foreign Policy Transition Criticized For Zinni Mess: "Amateurish"

Politico | Posted 03.09.2009 | Politics


Democratic foreign policy hands say that a senior Marine general's public frustration with Obama's top aides is a symptom of a national security trans...

Danger: Creeping Puritanism

Amitai Etzioni | Posted 03.08.2009 | Politics


Amitai Etzioni

Tom Daschle's resignation should have been accepted, however, that of Nancy Killefer should have been refused. Responses must be tailored to the "sin." Not all imperfections make a person unfit for office.

Obama Needs a New Brain Trust

Jacob Heilbrunn | Posted 03.07.2009 | Politics


Jacob Heilbrunn

Obama is in danger of seeing his first 100 days derailed. So far, he's been on the defensive, apologizing for the ways of old Washington. He wasn't elected to restore the Clinton era, but to usher in his own.

Tammy Duckworth: Obama's Assistant Veterans Affairs Secretary

AP | KIMBERLY HEFLING | Posted 03.06.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs director, was nominated by President Barack Obama on Tuesday to serve ...

Chris Hill Named Ambassador To Iraq

Stuart Whatley | Posted 03.05.2009 | Politics


Chris Hill has been named as the next ambassador to Iraq and will oversee a crucial moment for the nascent democracy, following provincial elections t...

Holder To GOP: I Won't Prosecute "Enhanced Interrogations"

Washington Times | Posted 02.28.2009 | Politics


President Obama's choice to run the Justice Department has assured senior Republican senators that he won't prosecute CIA officers or political appoin...

Specter Will Vote To Confirm Holder

AP | LARRY MARGASAK | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Eric Holder's confirmation as the first African-American attorney general was assured Tuesday when Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Repu...

Pentagon No. 2 Could Earn $500K Lobbying Pentagon

AP | LARA JAKES | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — The man nominated to be the Pentagon's second-in-command could make at least a half-million dollars next month with vested stock he...

Obama Makes a Bad Choice, America Trembles

Robert J. Elisberg | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


Robert J. Elisberg

I wish Obama had not named William Lynn the Deputy Secretary of Defense. It was a wrong decision. Though however wrong it was, it's a quality appointment that aids America.

McCain Flipflops: Votes Against Geithner

Think Progress | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


Yesterday, the Senate confirmed former New York Federal Reserve president Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary with a vote of 60 to 34. Geit...

Obama's Regulation Czar Nominee Sunstein Faces Scrutiny

Los Angeles Times | Posted 02.27.2009 | Politics


Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein, a widely admired intellectual and friend of President Obama, has spent years delving into the obscure i...

Obama Names Disaster Response Expert To Head CDC

Wall Street Journal | Posted 02.23.2009 | Politics


The Obama administration has appointed an infectious disease and disaster preparedness expert as acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Contr...