APPARENTLY ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN ARE EXCEPTIONAL:

Grassley raises objections to Lynn (JEN DIMASCIO, 2/4/09, Politico)

Responses from controversial former Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn, nominated to be deputy defense secretary, may have satisfied Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), but one of his fellow Republicans is proving a tougher sell.

Lynn’s nomination looms larger than ever, now that President Barack Obama has signaled he’ll more strictly adhere to his ethics rules. [...]

“Mr. Lynn’s past performance at the Department of Defense raises many concerns for Senator Grassley, let alone the possible conflicts of interest with a big-time defense contractor that have been brought to the attention of the American people by President Obama's new executive order on this issue,” a Grassley spokesperson said.

As much of Capitol Hill continued to focus on the Daschle fallout, Grassley has directed his staff to comb through documents from 10 years ago to prepare a floor speech, should Lynn’s nomination make it to the floor for a vote.

Before it gets that far, though, it must be approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee, but no firm date has been set.

Likely Justice Department nominee faces ethics hurdle: Mark Gitenstein, who is in line to head a key office, would require a waiver because of his lobbying work for several business clients. (Tom Hamburger and Josh Meyer, February 5, 2009, LA Times)

The leading candidate to head the Justice Department office that oversees legal policy and judicial nominations recently has been a lobbyist for several business clients, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and would require a waiver from the Obama administration's recently imposed ethics rules.

The likely nominee to head Justice's Office of Legal Policy, Mark Gitenstein, worked as a lobbyist for the chamber between 2000 and 2008, helping his firm earn more than $6 million in fees, according to federal lobbying records. [...]

If named by President Obama, Gitenstein would be another appointee who violates the White House's ethics rules, which prevent anyone who has registered to lobby in the last two years from working in a related area of the administration. In an interview, Gitenstein said he could not comment.

But several administration and congressional officials confirmed that Gitenstein is at the top of Obama's list for the job.

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• Pentagon Nominee Meets Resistance (online.wsj.com)
• Questions surround Obama nominee's contractor ties (cnn.com)
• Lynn's appointment still not settled (politico.com)

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 5, 2009 9:25 AM