The current issue of Time magazine has an interesting news report titled “How many more Mike Browns are out there?” that examines political appointments in the federal government. It recognizes that such appointments occur in every administration but says that “Bush has gone further than most Presidents to put political stalwarts in some of the most important government jobs you’ve never heard of, and to give them genuine power over the bureaucracy.”
Two of the appointees that Time features are David Safavian, the ex-lobbyist with minimal purchasing experience who oversaw $300 billion in spending at the Office of Management and Budget before being arrested this month, and Julie Myers, the niece of Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Richard Myers and Bush’s nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite having minimal experience.
Part of the problem is the lack of serious vetting in the confirmation process. Time notes that “Safavian’s April 2004 confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee (attended by only five of the panel’s 17 members) lasted just 67 minutes, and not a single question was asked about his qualifications.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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