Appointments and Resignations
Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration: Who Is Anne Ferro?
President Obama’s choice to lead the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has created a firestorm of criticism from labor and safety advocacy groups. FMCSA, which is part of the Department of Transportation, is charged with creating... read more
Director of the Peace Corps: Who Is Aaron Williams?
Aaron S. Williams, the eighteenth Director of the Peace Corps and only the fourth to have served as a Peace Corps Volunteer, was sworn in on August 25, 2009. Williams takes over an agency in considerable flux. On the one hand, Williams’ predecesso... read more
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services: Who is Alexa Posny?
Alexa E. Posny, chosen by President Barack Obama to run the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, previously served in a similar capacity for the Bush administration, after holding various education adm... read more
Fired by Obama, Walpin Wants His Job Back
An internal review of former inspector general Gerald Walpin has found he did not exceed his authority while investigating the non-profit foundation St. HOPE established by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a political ally of President Barack Obama... read more
Want to be a Supreme Court Justice? Go to Harvard or Yale
For those making out their law school applications and dreaming of sitting on the highest court in the land someday, the list of possible destinations might as well be limited to three choices: Harvard, Yale, or Columbia University. According to a... read more
Bush-Appointed U.S. Attorneys Cling to Office
One third of all U.S. Attorneys currently in office were appointed by President George W. Bush, demonstrating that President Barack Obama is moving far slower than his predecessor in making over the composition of federal prosecutors. An analysis ... read more
Obama Finally Fills Vacancies in Government’s Least Popular Agency
Nothing is easy at the federal government’s most unpopular agency. Six months after President Barack Obama fired all of its top appointees, the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) has a new panel of commissioners so that it can finally do its... read more
Is Obama Quietly Eliminating an Intelligence Oversight Board?
According to Jeff Stein at CQ Politics, there are no indications from the Obama White House that the seats on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and Intelligence Oversight Board will be filled anytime soon. The board, which once served a ... read more
Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons: Who Is Luis C. de Baca?
President Obama turned to a career prosecutor with many years of experience in fighting human trafficking when he nominated Luis C de Baca to be the next Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of Stat... read more
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management: Who is Warren “Pete” Miller, Jr.?
Warren F. “Pete” Miller, Jr. has been selected by President Barack Obama to fill two posts that oversee each end of nuclear energy—supplying it and storing its waste. First, Miller was nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy in the ... read more
Ambassador to Tunisia: Who Is Gordon Gray?
President Barack Obama nominated an experienced diplomat to be the US ambassador to Tunisia. Gordon Gray III, who was confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 2009, has almost 30 years experience in the Foreign Service, most of it in positions dealing ... read more
Ambassador to the Marshall Islands: Who is Martha Campbell?
Ambassador to the Marshall Islands: Who is Martha Campbell?
Martha L. Campbell was sworn in as the US Ambassador to the Republic of Marshall Islands on August 21, 2009. After the US signed the Compact of Free Association, Martha Campbell actua... read more
Ambassador to Spain and Andorra: Who is Alan Solomont?
A key fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s, Alan D. Solomont has been a major player in Democratic Party politics since the 1980s, while amassing a fortune in the nursing home industry and contributing millions to a variety of philanthropic cau... read more
Ambassador to Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, and Nauru: Who is C. Steven McGann?
C. Steven McGann, a longtime member of the Foreign Service whose work has spanned from Africa to South Asia, received his first ambassadorship in being selected to be the United States’ top envoy to Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Tonga, and Nauru. He ass... read more
Ambassador to Oman: Who Is Richard Schmierer?
On June 11, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated a career diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East to be the next ambassador to Oman. Richard J. Schmierer was born in New Jersey circa 1952, and earned a B.A. from Lehigh University i... read more
Chief Operating Officer, Office of Federal Student Aid: Who Is William Taggart?
On June 1, 2009, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appointed William J. Taggart to be chief operating officer (COO) of the department's Federal Student Aid office (FSA). FSA is a Performance Based Organization (PBO), which is intended to cre... read more