GOP Uses Van Jones to Rebel Against Czars

Republicans have slammed paid advisers' role in Washington

(NEWSER) - House Republicans hope a new bill will drive out President Obama’s “czars,” the 39 paid advisers he’s hired throughout his term. The GOP has pushed similar bills in the past, but with Republican control of the House, this one stands a better chance of advancing, the Hill notes. Republicans have railed against czars like Van Jones, former head of "green jobs," who've led task forces without needing Senate confirmation. More»

(AP) - Obama environmental adviser Van Jones is resigning amid controversy over past inflammatory statements. The so-called green jobs czar got into hot water this week when two things surfaced: He called Republicans "assholes" in a video made before he joined the administration, and he signed a petition supporting the "truther" movement, which alleges that the Bush administration allowed the 9/11 attacks to happen. More»

Confirmation hearings must focus on big picture

(NEWSER) - The process Elena Kagan once derided as a "vapid and hollow charade" gets under way tomorrow when the solicitor general appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee as President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee. "Instead of playing cat-and-mouse with the nominee about how she would rule in future cases, senators should think big," the Los Angeles Times editorial board counsels. Specific questions to ask:

• Is the high court more like an umpire or an empathetic decision-maker?

In old video, communications director Anita Dunn calls Chinese leader a favorite

(NEWSER) - That was quick. The White House sent communications director Anita Dunn after Fox over the weekend, and now an old video has surfaced—much to the delight of Glenn Beck and others—in which she calls Mao one of her "favorite political philosophers." In a speech to high school students, Dunn draws laughs by lumping in Mao with another of her favorites, Mother Teresa. More»

But GOP's Collins vows to keep the 'issue' alive with more hearings

(NEWSER) - The anti-czar crusade hit quite the speed bump yesterday, when five constitutional scholars testified in a Senate hearing that it was indeed perfectly legal for the president to have policy advisers. They said the principle dated back to FDR and that, assuming the czars didn’t have any actual legal authority, there wasn’t an issue. “Practical authority is not legal authority,” noted one scholar. More»