vetting

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'Invasive' Process for VP Vetting Has Apparently Begun

Amy Klobuchar has reportedly been asked to consent to the scrutiny

(Newser) - Joe Biden promised during a primary debate in March that he would pick a woman to be his running mate if he became the Democratic nominee for president. That "invasive" process—Biden's words—is reportedly about to begin in earnest. Sources tell CBS News that Minnesota Sen....

VP Candidates Can Expect Vetting Palin Never Got
VP Candidates Can Expect Vetting Palin Never Got
analysis
Mar 24, 2012 7:50 AM CDT

VP Candidates Can Expect Vetting Palin Never Got

And New Mexico's Susana Martinez may be too similar

(Newser) - The Republican Party may be suffering from an enthusiasm gap this election cycle, but don't expect a game-changing VP this time around, writes Richard Stevenson at the New York Times . Someone like New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez might look ideal, for instance—female, Hispanic, Tea Party-friendly, handgun fan, bipartisan...

GOP Uses Van Jones to Rebel Against Czars

Republicans say czars are an end-run around congressional vetting

(Newser) - Republicans have groused for months that Barack Obama has too many “czars,” high-ranking, specialized advisers that, they complain, skirt congressional approval. Now they have a poster boy for their objections, Politico reports: Van Jones. This week an old lecture video surfaced in which he called Republicans “assholes,...

Clinton Derides Vetting Process as a 'Nightmare'

Secretary frustrated by lengthy delays in filling top jobs

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton told USAID staff yesterday that the Obama administration's vetting process for top jobs has become a frustrating "nightmare," CNN reports. Clinton was asked why  the agency is still without a new administrator. "It's not for lack of trying," she responded. "It takes far...

Women Indeed Dominated Obama's Court List: Insiders

With field narrowed to 4, prez slept on it

(Newser) - President Obama's short list for his Supreme Court pick consisted of four women: Solicitor General Elana Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, US Court of Appeals judge Diane Wood, and the eventual selection, Sonia Sotomayor. By Friday, Obama thought he was ready to make the pick, but decided to take...

Stolen RAF Files on Drug Use, Sex Spark Blackmail Fears

Data bares UK officers' foibles

(Newser) - Top British military officials are at risk of blackmail after three Royal Air Force hard drives containing revealing vetting details were stolen, the Daily Mail reports. Files on the drives told of “criminal investigations, drug abuse, use of prostitutes, and extra-marital affairs,” said a Ministry of Defense memo....

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
Analysis
May 5, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played

Prepare for a spectacle as the 3 branches, special interests collide

(Newser) - The process of replacing David Souter has begun in earnest, so get ready for “Washington at its best (or worst, depending on your perspective),” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three branches of government, and a boatload of special interests and egos, will brawl it out...

How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice
How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice
OPINION
May 4, 2009 1:04 PM CDT

How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice

Vet Souter's successor like heck, and talk to all the right people

(Newser) - If Barack Obama wants to avoid a drawn out battle over his Supreme Court nominee, Mark Halperin has some advice:
  • Vet the nominee exhaustively, and if anything comes up, make sure it comes out early and favorably.
  • Be ready to play up “whatever Horatio Alger elements” of the nominee’
...

Obama's CIO Once Pleaded Guilty to Theft

Embattled Kundra swiped less than $300 back in 1997

(Newser) - Vetting blunders don't get much more basic than this: Vivek Kundra, Barack Obama’s embattled Chief Information Officer, has a criminal record, Gawker’s Owen Thomas reports. Kundra, who’s currently suspended because of unrelated bribery charges against an employee, pleaded guilty to stealing less than $300 in 1997, according...

Treasury Pick Withdraws After Vetting 'Issue'

Cohen, tabbed as deputy, is third to pull out in less than a week

(Newser) - Staffing the Treasury Department is proving to be a pickle for the Obama administration, with the third candidate in less than a week withdrawing from consideration today, ABC News reports. H. Rodgin Cohen, a partner with law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, was considered the top choice for Deputy Treasury Secretary...

Obama's Slow Vetting Leaves Agencies Empty, Stymied

Treas. secretary swamped with little help amid crisis

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s painstaking vetting of nominees for important positions has left many lower-level posts unfilled at a time of crisis, NPR reports. Some agencies lack appointees below Cabinet level—meaning, for example, that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is swamped as “pretty much the only Obama appointee with...

Vetting Process Leaves Agencies Understaffed

Stimulus increases workload, but senior posts vacant

(Newser) - President Obama’s nominee vetting process is making it hard for federal agencies to get to work on new projects, the Boston Globe reports. Of about 500 senior positions, only 70 have been filled. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the passage of the stimulus package “may...

Palin Fans, Stop Whining About Caroline
Palin Fans, Stop Whining About Caroline
OPINION
Dec 19, 2008 9:05 AM CST

Palin Fans, Stop Whining About Caroline

Comparing Palin and Kennedy is like comparing apples and zebras

(Newser) - Critics crying foul over the difference in treatment received by Caroline Kennedy and Sarah Palin are ignoring the power gap between the respective jobs sought, Kathleen Parker argues in the Washington Post. Both may have emerged without proper vetting, Parker writes, but Kennedy is seeking to be one of a...

Palin Vetted Just Before Being Chosen

But McCain camp stresses she was still thoroughly checked out

(Newser) - Sarah Palin did not meet with John McCain’s top veep-vetter until the day before the Republican nominee announced his pick, the Washington Post reports. Despite the apparent haste, McCain’s camp assured the public that the Alaska governor’s past had been thoroughly examined. But it wasn’t until...

Bristol's Pregnancy Raises Serious Vetting Questions

Mac picked in haste after conservatives nixed his two faves: sources

(Newser) - The steady stream of stories emerging about John McCain's brand new running mate has some Republicans wondering how thoroughly Sarah Palin was vetted, the New York Times reports. McCain has said he was aware that her teen daughter Bristol was pregnant, although aides are vague about when he learned of...

Marines Demand Probe Into Armor Delay

Blast resistant vehicles 'could have cut deaths in half'

(Newser) - The US Marine Corps has asked the Department of Defense to investigate delays obtaining vehicles with blast-resistant armor for combat units in Iraq. An internal USMC memo claims the money needed for the vehicles, which could have cut deaths from roadside bombings by 50%, was diverted to other projects, reports...

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