Appointments and Resignations
Rural Utilities Service: Who is Jonathan Adelstein?
A Democrat who hails from South Dakota, Jonathan S. Adelstein has spent the past seven years serving as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), advocating for greater Internet services for rural America. As the head of the Rural U... read more
Federal Railroad Administrator: Who is Joe Szabo?
Joe Szabo, the first union official ever to lead the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), was confirmed on April 29, 2009. Until his appointment, he worked since the mid-1990s as the top lobbyist in Illinois for the nation’s largest railroad wor... read more
Obama Army Nominee McHugh Well-Funded by Defense Industry
The Secretary of the Army is a civilian-led post responsible for overseeing all matters pertaining to the U.S. Army, including procurement of weapons systems and other equipment used by soldiers. Given this responsibility, the defense industry was... read more
Obama Auto Advisor a Major Investor in Fund that Controlled Chrysler and GMAC
Turns out the man advising President Barack Obama on rescuing the failing auto industry once had a significant financial stake in two of the “Big 3.” An investment banker, Steven Rattner was until recently an investor in Cerberus Capital Managemen... read more
Federal Aviation Administrator: Who is J. Randolph Babbitt?
J. Randolph “Randy” Babbitt, an aviation consultant and former pilot-union boss, will take over the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it tries to overhaul air-traffic control equipment through the NextGen project, a billion-dollar effort to... read more
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity: Who is John Trasviña?
A long time Latino civil rights attorney, John Trasviña was confirmed as the assistant secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity on May 1, 2009. He comes to the Department of Housing and Urban Development after serving as president of the M... read more
Obama Treasury Nominee Cleared to Draw $1 Million a Year from Last Employer
If confirmed by the Senate, the Treasury Department’s top lawyer will earn nearly ten times more in compensation from his former employer than he will from his government salary. George W. Madison has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be... read more
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico: Who Is Carlos Pascual?
In April 2009, President Obama proposed Carlos Pascual as the next U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. This was a controversial choice because his specialty is not Latin America, but rather converting newly independent or failed states to democracy and fre... read more
Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs: Who is Larry EchoHawk?
Larry EchoHawk, President Obama’s choice to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was born August 2, 1948, in Cody, Wyoming. A member of the Pawnee Native American tribe of Oklahoma, he is a leading supporter of Native American rights, a Democrat, an... read more
Federal Highway Administration: Who is Victor Mendez?
Running the state of Arizona’s transportation agency has become something of a stepping-stone for recent appointees to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). At the beginning of George W. Bush’s first term, Mary Peters, then-director of the Ar... read more
Ambassador to Ireland: Who is Dan Rooney?
Nominated on St. Patrick’s Day by President Barack Obama to be the next United States ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney is considered to be the most high-profile figure ever to represent the U.S. in Ireland, thanks to his ownership of the famed Pi... read more
Chairman, Federal Trade Commission: Who is Jon Leibowitz?
As the only Democrat currently on the board of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Jon Leibowitz was not much of a surprise pick by President Barack Obama to head up the regulatory commission. But his role as chairman is expected to move the FTC i... read more
Under Secretary of Energy for Science: Who is Steven Koonin?
The choice of Steven E. Koonin, a longtime physics professor at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and, since 2004, senior scientist for British Petroleum, to lead the Office of Science in the Department of Energy is viewed by those ... read more
FEMA Chief of Staff’s Conflict of Interest
President Barack Obama’s pledge to maintain a high ethical standard in his administration hasn’t stopped the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from employing a former top executive from a major FEMA contractor to serve as the agency’s lea... read more
Director of the Indian Health Service: Who is Yvette Roubideaux?
A physician and professor who has dedicated her career to combating diabetes, Yvette Roudideaux is the first Native American woman to head the Indian Health Service since it was founded in 1955.
Born in 1963, Roubideaux is a member of her fath... read more
Obama Team Rejects Human Rights Expert Because He Lobbied for Human Rights
President Barack Obama’s “no lobbyists” rule for his administration has prevented a leading human rights expert from becoming the State Department’s top human rights official. Tom Malinowski, the Washington, DC, advocacy director for Human Rights ... read more