Chertoff: A No-Go for AG?
Shane Harris has come up with a bunch of reasons why Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff is unlikely to be the nominee to replace Alberto Gonzales at Justice. My favorite is #3:
Politicization and mismanagement at DHS. The new attorney general is supposed to restore credibility and career morale at the Justice Department. Given Chertoff's mixed track record on both fronts at Homeland Security, it's questionable whether lawmakers would see him as the right man for that job. The department is in the midst of a transition from mostly political leadership to career managers. Under Chertoff, the trend towards political management--and politicization--was palpable. The House Homeland Security Committee has cited "critical leadership vacancies" at the department; a quarter of top positions remain unfilled. As I wrote in June, DHS has a reputation as a land of misfit toys, a place where Bush loyalists and partisans get patronage posts for which they lack qualifications. Despite Chertoff's efforts now to turn that tide, the reputation has stuck, and one can imagine how lawmakers would judge skeptically his ability to cleanse Justice of the stain of partisanship.
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Government Executive Editor in Chief Tom Shoop, along with other editors and staff correspondents, take a fresh look at news affecting the management and operations of the federal bureaucracy.
This is no judgement on Chertoff. My comment is a general one - Who in their right mind would want the AG job under these circumstances? Number One- the mess to clean up after Gonzolez's tenure is enormous. Number Two- the pressure from the president to "do as Alberto did" might be overwhelming. Good luck.
Don Posted Thursday, August 30, 2007 12:19 PMIt's interesting to note that even when these positions were filled, in DHS, there was no real "leadership." This agency has always been highly factionalized and top heavy.
Perhaps the answer is to revist staffing levels and ELIMINATE senior management positions, replacing them with workers to get the job done or abolishing those positions altogether. Until the "upside down" supervisor-staffing ratios are solved, IN ALL PARTS of DHS, the agency will continue to be highly ineffectual.
Concerned citizen Posted Tuesday, September 4, 2007 7:52 AMHaving worked for DHS the agency does have senior management issues and the agency is a sinking ship. All double dipping Senior management do not have a vested interest in the agency and they only care about their bonus... and the are very undeserved.
Chertoff is someone I respect, he made some changes to my agency within weeks of taking office that made for a safer working environment for me going against senior management of my agency.
The real reason I believe Chertoff wants to leave DHS is, we are going to be hit hard in the U.S.A. with a terrorist attack " I have a gut feeling" and he does not want to be the fall guy.
JAJ Posted Wednesday, September 5, 2007 11:00 PM