CIA pick in question; several DOJ nominations
The widely-reported potential appointment of former Clinton chief of staff and congressman Leon Panetta to head the Central Intelligence Agency seems to be getting mixed reviews. Several members of congress, including both party heads of the Senate committee responsible for Panetta's confirmation have expressed reservations about the choice. (More after the jump.)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said she was not briefed about the pick beforehand (for which Obama and Biden “apologized profusely”). Still, Sen. Christopher S. Bond (Mo.), the top-ranking Republican on the intelligence panel, voiced concerns with Panetta’s lack of intelligence experience, and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) worried about nominating a partisan individual to the post (Panetta was chief of staff to Bill Clinton and served in the House for sixteen years).
The reaction wasn’t all bad, however; Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R- Mich.), the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, applauded the choice, and Former Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts signaled that he would support the pick.
In other nomination news, Obama announced yesterday four picks to fill senior Department of Justice roles:
- David Ogden as Deputy Attorney General. Currently a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, Ogden served as Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division under President Clinton.
- Elena Kagan as Solicitor General. Kagan was Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton and is currently the Dean of Harvard Law.
- Tom Perrelli as Associate Attorney General. Perrelli was Deputy Assistant Attorney General under President Clinton and is currently Managing Partner of Jenner & Block.
- Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel. Johnsen served in the Office of Legal Counsel under President Clinton, and has been a Professor of Law at Indiana University since 1998.
