Obama, Aides Consider Appointing Energy 'Czar'

Obama, Aides Consider Appointing Energy 'Czar'
By STEPHEN POWER and NEIL KING JR.
Huffington Post
12/7/08

WASHINGTON -- President-elect Barack Obama and his aides are close to naming a slate of appointees to run the departments of Interior and Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency amid debate on whether to establish a White House-level post to coordinate policies on climate change and dependence on Middle East oil.

The wrangle over the creation of a high-level energy council or climate "czar" could determine which appointees will run the three agencies, which have the biggest impact on energy and climate policy.

It also reflects the bureaucratic challenge some of Mr. Obama's advisers see in managing the many federal agencies that have a hand in energy policy, including the Transportation Department, which sets vehicle fuel-economy standards; the Interior Department; which controls access to oil and natural gas on federal land; and the EPA, which regulates air quality.

Mr. Obama managed to please multiple factions within the Democratic Party on energy matters during the campaign by promising to invest billions in green-energy efforts and support climate-change legislation. But as he fills out his administration, some fault lines on energy policy are beginning to show.

His pick of retired Marine Gen. James Jones as national security adviser has prompted worry among some environmentalists. Gen. Jones leads an energy initiative within the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has long clashed with the group.

Various policy centers -- including one led by John Podesta, who heads the Obama transition effort -- have advocated the creation of an energy council led by a high-level adviser within the White House. Some on the transition team have expressed reservations about the idea, people familiar with the matter said.

People familiar with the selection process said Mr. Obama's top aides plan to meet in Chicago this weekend to help the president-elect choose nominees for the top energy and environmental posts, and that an announcement could come as early Tuesday. A spokesman for the Obama transition team declined to comment Friday.

Among the leading candidates to run the EPA are Lisa Jackson, a former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection who is now chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine; and Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, people close to the selection process said.

The EPA administrator's influence on energy policy is expected to grow both as a result of Mr. Obama's support for regulating greenhouse-gas emissions and a 2007 Supreme Court decision that found the Clean Air Act authorizes the agency to regulate such emissions if it determines they cause or contribute to air pollution that endangers public health or welfare.

Many business groups are already lobbying the EPA against taking such a step, fearing it will lead to an avalanche of costly mandates. Both Ms. Jackson and Ms. Nichols have helped lead their states' efforts to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from autos and other sources.

Other names in the mix, possibly for chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, are Howard Learner, executive director of the Illinois-based Environmental Law and Policy Center; and Jason Grumet, executive director of the Washington-based National Commission on Energy Policy. Both have a history of working closely with Mr. Obama on environmental matters.

A leading candidate for the post of Interior secretary, according to people familiar with the Obama transition team's deliberations, is Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat who has accused the Bush administration of pandering to energy companies by speeding up the permitting of oil and gas leases on federal land.

Some of Mr. Obama's advisers are pushing for former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, on the grounds that the Interior Department needs a leader with extensive experience running a large organization. The agency has been roiled recently by allegations that it employees mismanaged oil and gas royalties, and became too close to energy industry representatives.

Mr. Kitzhaber couldn't be reached for comment. He told the Associated Press this week it was "extremely doubtful" he would be chosen for the post.

People familiar with the selection process said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm are among the leading candidates to run the Energy Department.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Sebelius said she is "focused on her job as governor" but "has not shut the door on" serving in the administration. A spokeswoman for Gov. Granholm said she is "looking forward to serving as governor with a partner in the White House."
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"Laura Meckler contributed to this article.