Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nevada, filed cloture on the nomination of Martha Johnson last night. Johnson, you’ll recall, was tapped by Pres. Obama last year to lead the General Services Administration, but her confirmation has been held up by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo. Read about the flap here, here and here. And stay tuned for continuing coverage of her nomination saga.
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Remember Michael Brown, that former FEMA director President George W. Bush nicknamed Brownie and praised for responding quickly to Hurricane Katrina? Ever wondered what he thinks of Washington now? Well, now you can know, as Brown has just received his own talk show on KOA, Denver’s highest-rated radio station. Brown will pontificate on politics from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. weeknights on the AM station. Kris Olinger, director of AM programming for Clear Channel Denver, told Denver Westword, a blog, that Brown was the best choice for the station. Brown’s experience in the Bush administration is also a “definite positive,”…
The General Services Administration is getting a lot of attention from White House this week. Last night, I reported that Pres. Obama appeared to call out Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., for holding up Martha Johnson’s nomination to lead the agency. Today, the White House blog chose GSA to illustrate the new feature: “The President’s Cabinet Reporting to You.” Coincidence? Or a sign of how the White House views the government’s procurement and real estate arm?
Did President Obama just call out Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., for holding up the confirmation of Martha Johnson to lead GSA? You decide. Here is what Obama said in tonight’s State of the Union address regarding the hold up of several of his nominees: The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual Senators. And here are two links to our past posts about the hold Bond has on Johnson’s full Senate confirmation. Both note the hold is directly related to Bond’s desire to move a federal complex…
Want to dance on federal property? Well, you can’t if you’re at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., a federal judge ruled Jan. 25. U.S. District Judge John Bates wrote in a 26-page opinion that the memorial’s interior is not a public forum, ruling against a woman who was arrested along with 17 others while dancing in the Jefferson Memorial to celebrate the third president’s birthday on April 12, 2008, reported The Washington Post. The celebrants were listening to music via headphones and danced to celebrate “the individualist spirit for which Jefferson is known,” wrote Alan Gura, the attorney for…
For those of you in the Washington area, I’ll be appearing on News Channel 8 this evening to discuss my story about a U.S. Postal Service executive who steered sole-source contracts to his business associates, and the questions some are raising about those deals. Tune into Federal News Tonight at 7:30 p.m. to see the interview.
A Republican Party fundraising letter that looks an awful lot like the official 2010 Census form is drawing complaints from all sides. The mailing from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is disguised as a survey and is labeled the “2010 Congressional District Census.” The survey even includes a “Census Tracking Code” and is brandished with the words “census document.” A GOP spokesman said the mailing was not intended to mislead voters, noting that it states in several places that it’s from the Republican Party. But lawmakers from both parties are criticizing the letter, saying it could be confused with…
OMB deputy director Rob Nabors held a conference call with reporters a little while ago to talk about President Obama’s proposed three-year “non-security discretionary spending freeze.” As we mention over on the homepage, the freeze only affects a fraction of the federal budget: $447 billion, or about 17 percent of total spending. Nabors clarified that it exempts Defense, Homeland Security, the VA, and the entire State/international affairs section of the federal budget. He also emphasized that the cuts aren’t uniform. It’s not an across-the-board cut. We have honored the president’s commitment and gone line-by-line through the budget trying to find…
The Christmas Day underpants bomber has spurred contractors to create security devices they hope may be deployed in airports across the country, reports the Los Angeles Times today. Security companies are scrambling to develop devices to sniff for explosives, screen shoes and analyze liquids in bottles. They’re all hoping for a piece of the Transportation Security Administration’s $1 billion in stimulus funding: $700 million to improve baggage screening and $300 million for detection of explosives on passengers. And it’s not just contractors striving to create new machines. The Homeland Security Department’s science and technology directorate’s New Jersey laboratory tests and…
The folks over at WeLoveDC.com asked readers today to name a building they’d like to see erased from the DC skyline, and the results could spark a federal investigation. Most readers called for the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building to be torn down. The headquarters building, built between 1967 and 1974, is made of poured concrete in the Brutalist architectural style that was popular at the time but has since gone out of fashion. Other readers suggested that what the building really needs is an overhaul, not a demolition, pointing out that restoring outdated buildings is not only environmentally preferable but…