Many Democrats are nervous about Election Day, but some are
especially nervous.
Some administration officials have worked well with Republicans in
Congress, but others have infuriated GOP lawmakers during the first
two years of the Obama presidency.
Republicans on Capitol Hill crave the oversight power that would
come with winning a House majority. It would arm the GOP with
something they have not had in four years: subpoena power.
The Obama administration will be held accountable “like they’ve
never been held accountable,” Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who
would be chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee
should the GOP win the House, said recently.
Here are the top 10 administration officials (outside of the White
House) who have the most on the line:
Attorney General Eric Holder.* Republicans have been highly critical
of Holder on issues ranging from the Black Panther voting case to
Guantanamo Bay to Miranda rights for terrorism suspects. Rep. Frank
Wolf (Va.), the top Republican appropriator with jurisdiction over
the Department of Justice, has expressed exasperation with Holder
for refusing to respond to his
letters seeking “basic information.”
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson*. With climate change legislation
on life support, Republicans will likely act to ensure the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not seek to curb carbon
emissions through a rulemaking. Jackson has aggressively led EPA by
pursuing a broad agenda. But that has drawn salvos from many
Republicans and even a few Democrats, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller
(W.Va.).
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius*. Republican oversight of the
Clinton administration on healthcare in the 1990s was intense. But
if Republicans win the House, it will even be more so in the 112th
Congress. Sebelius’s department, and her implementation of the new
healthcare law, will be under heavy scrutiny. So will one of her
deputies, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator
Donald Berwick. Bypassing the Senate, President Obama
recess-appointed Berwick in July. The move sparked outrage from
Republicans who wanted to reopen the healthcare debate and press
Berwick on controversial statements he made on rationing medical
care. Republicans in both chambers asked their Democratic
counterparts to invite Berwick to testify before Congress. Next
year, Republicans may not have to ask.
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano.* The conservative-leaning Drudge
Report has given Napolitano the nickname “Big Sis,” which she
recently said amuses her. The spotlight on Napolitano is bright
because she handles many hot-button issues, including border
security, immigration and the use of body scanners in airports. She
has also been a critic of Arizona’s immigration law, which the
administration is legally challenging.
USTR Ron Kirk.* The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative hasn’t
had a lot to do for two years, but that could change with a House
Republican majority. Three pending trade deals that stalled under
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could move next year and provide a
rare bit of cooperation between Republicans and the White House.
Kirk is expected to be more visible in the next Congress, though
some GOP freshmen in 2011 won’t be anxious to move trade pacts.
Elizabeth Warren, assistant to the president.* Warren will have a
leading role in setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
a key facet of the Wall Street reform bill that most GOP lawmakers
opposed. Republicans will want her to testify – a lot. Warren’s
appointment was lauded by liberal activists and Financial Services
Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.).
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. *The right and the left have
attacked Geithner, and Republicans will attempt to pick apart how
the Obama administration has handled the nation’s ailing economy.
Should he grab the gavel of the Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, Issa would likely focus on may things within Treasury’s
purview, including the economic stimulus; the Troubled Asset Relief
Program, or TARP, that was used to bail out banks and auto
companies; and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates*. Gates, who was the only Cabinet
member who stayed on after the 2008 election, has indicated he
wants to leave his post in 2011. His rationale is that replacing him
would be difficult in an election year. But the debate over "Don't
ask, don't tell" and the target date of withdrawing U.S. troops from
Afghanistan in July of next year could complicate his exit. Senate
Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and ranking
member John McCain (R-Ariz.) have very different views on the
importance of the July deadline. Gates is well-respected on both
sides of the aisle, but whatever withdrawal plan he and the
president choose, it is sure to attract criticism. There has been
speculation that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may replace
Gates.
OMB Director Jack Lew. *House Republicans plan to vote on a series
of bills that would cut the deficit. Lew, who worked well with
Republicans as budget director in the Clinton administration, will
need to pick his battles with the new Congress.
Obama’s so-called czars.* Congressional Republicans were reluctant
to criticize Obama after the 2008 election, but they have never
shied away from lambasting his so-called czars. Republicans have
argued that the use of these czars, who include White House Office
of Healthcare Director Nancy-Ann DeParle and Special Envoy for
Middle East Peace George Mitchell, violates the Constitution because
they are not confirmed by the Senate. While most Democrats have
countered that former President George W. Bush had officials in
similar positions, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) publicly
questioned Obama on the issue.