According to the Washington Post and Jim Geraghty at NRO, “Obama has not yet named anyone for the eleven supporting roles (one deputy, two undersecretaries, and eight assistant secretaries) at Treasury.”
Secretary Timothy F. Geithner still does not have a deputy or Senate-confirmed undersecretaries or assistant secretaries to help him. And it’s not because the Senate has been going at its traditional, snail-like pace confirming people. (That will be, as sure as night follows day, a problem down the road.) The fact is, the White House has sent no nominations to the Senate for any of those positions.
And the problem, as Volcker also noted, is a severe case of Daschle-itis — with a strong dose of Geithner-itis — that has sparked an intense spate of re-vetting of potential nominees. We’ve heard the process compared to some rather unpleasant medical procedures. According to one estimate, as many as a third of potential nominees were found to have had some tax questions to answer.
Try to grasp this situation.
His team has had 118 days to select Administration leadership.
Now, I can understand if these appointees were held up in the Senate. From my time working to get nominees through when I was at the Dept of Education, I understand what a pain it can be.
But to not even have names submitted? That takes a special kinda stupid.
Perhaps the tax issue provides an opportunity for the GOP. Clearly, Obama’s nominees have had issues with doing their taxes correctly. Maybe now is the time for Republicans to address how complicated the tax code really is, and how a simplification is in order.
This would enable Republicans to highlight Administration leadership deficiencies while still addressing an issue that has been a concern for years.
Help the Obama Administration, Sen. Voinovich and Rep. Boehner! Simplify the tax code!
h/t: Jim Geraghty @ Campaignspot
