Tag: nominee

Biden judicial nominee helped free-market group that opposed administration on climate change

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Delaney’s relationship with the organization, which has not been reported in the media until now, is just one of several aspects of his resume that causes concern among some progressives. He has already faced questions about his work defending an elite boarding school that was sued over sexual assault, and for signing a brief defending a state abortion restriction.
The White House continues to support Delaney, calling him “extraordinarily qualified” in a statement to POLITICO this week. The two senators from his home state of New Hampshire, both of whom are Democrats, are also standing behind him.
Delaney did not respond to a request for comment on this reporting. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to review his nomination at a markup on Thursday.
Delaney was New Hampshire’s attorney general from 2009 to 2013. He now heads the litigation department for McLane Middleton, a law firm with offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
In 2018, Delaney joined the board of the New England Legal Foundation, according to his Senate questionnaire. He is also on the foundation’s legal review committee. Daniel Winslow, the president of the foundation, told POLITICO that the committee members vet the foundation’s amicus briefs before they are filed.
Winslow added that he was not aware of Delaney weighing in on briefs since Winslow became the group’s head in October 2021, likely because he expected to be nominated to the bench. Biden tapped Delaney in January of this year, and the Senate Judiciary Committee held his nomination hearing in February.
The New England Legal Foundation’s website touts its “vigorous advocacy of free market principles” and describes its mission as championing “individual economic liberties, traditional property rights, properly limited government, and inclusive economic growth.” Its “About” page features a quote from John W. Davis, the U.S. solicitor general under former President Woodrow Wilson: “Property rights and civil rights are not essentially in conflict; they are two sides of the same coin.” Late in his career, Davis defended school segregation and the “separate but equal” doctrine before the Supreme Court in a companion case to Brown v. Board of Education, representing the state of South Carolina for free.
NELF’s June 2021 amicus brief in the climate change case urged the Supreme Court to take up the case and overrule a lower court that had sided with the EPA. After the justices agreed to hear the case, NELF filed another amicus brief in December 2021 opposing the administration’s position. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the EPA in a June 2022 opinion that Biden called a “devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.” In the coming weeks, the EPA is expected to release a new climate change rule.

Winslow said the group’s work on the case was of a piece with its mission: Advocating for free enterprise, property rights, limited government and inclusive economic growth.
“Consistent with the rule of law, if you’re an agency, the boundaries of your conduct are set by the elected, accountable branch, Congress,” he said. “And when the administrative state goes beyond that boundary to the point of being unaccountable to the people directly — which Congress is — that violates our principle of rule of law, and that’s why we were involved in that case.”
Delaney graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994, according to his law firm bio. Five years later, he was heading the homicide prosecution unit in the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. He later served as counsel to the governor and then as the state’s attorney general before moving into private practice.
During Delaney’s time on NELF’s board, the group has filed amicus briefs siding with the Chamber of Commerce and a host of powerful companies, including Facebook, Uber and Deutsche Bank.
In the Uber case, NELF supported the company in a lawsuit brought by a blind man who alleged the rideshare app illegally discriminated against him by refusing to let him bring his guide dog on rides. Uber moved to force the resolution of the matter in arbitration rather than in court, citing its terms of service. NELF backed Uber, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court sided with the plaintiff.
That was just one of multiple cases where NELF worked to shore up companies’ rights to resolve disputes through mandatory arbitration. In its 2019/2020 report, the group detailed its work successfully defending arbitration before the Supreme Court in one case — known as Lamps Plus v. Varela — but noted that its efforts on another arbitration-related case — New Prime v. Oliveira — didn’t prevail.
Mandatory arbitration clauses have long drawn condemnation from progressives, who argue they result in customers and employees unwittingly ceding their rights to go to court, as the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen has detailed.
Biden himself has also criticized mandatory arbitration. Last year, he signed legislation banning the requirement in cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment. At the signing ceremony, he assailed the practice more broadly.
“Sixty million Americans are bound by forced arbitration clauses that were included in the fine print of their contracts,” he said. “And many don’t even know they exist. You might have signed one without knowing it. I strongly believe no worker should have to make such a commitment.”
NELF also filed a brief in an important 2021 Supreme Court case involving a clash between union organizers and private property rights. Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid involved a California regulation that gave labor organizers the right to enter the property of agricultural employers in order to speak with workers about joining a union. NELF sided with the companies challenging the regulation, and the high court ultimately found the regulation unconstitutional.
The Biden administration defended the California regulation in the case. So did a group of Democratic lawmakers: Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.)., Cory Booker (N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Alex Padilla (Calif.). In their brief, the senators listed NELF as one of several entities filing amicus briefs that are funded by “industry-tied foundations and anonymous money groups.”
NELF’s most recent annual report listed dozens of corporations, law firms and individuals as contributors. The report said the group got 45 percent of its 2020 revenue from corporate sponsors.
NELF also weighed in on a case related to a New Hampshire regulator’s effort to reduce dangerous PFAS contaminants — known as “forever chemicals” — in drinking water. NELF sided with 3M Company in its effort to block a rule reducing the presence of those contaminants. The group argued that New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services hadn’t done a proper cost-benefit analysis before tightening its regulations of the chemicals.
“Our amicus brief said, ‘Hey judges, let the legislature have the first crack at this issue,’” Winslow, the group’s president, said. “No, we don’t favor PFAS.”
PFAS contamination has been a major concern for the Biden administration, as the White House detailed in a fact sheet released this March.
Some advocates for liberal causes voiced concerns about Delaney’s nomination after being informed by POLITICO of his connection to NELF.
Jeff Hauser, the head of the progressive watchdog group Revolving Door Project, told POLITICO that he found Delaney’s nomination puzzling.
“The Biden agenda on economic issues, such as protecting workers and the environment, faces a judicial headwind from the conservative legal movement of which NELF and Delaney is a part,” Hauser wrote in an email. “That tension between the Biden Administration’s legal interests and Delaney’s revealed preferences makes elevating Delaney to the bench a confoundingly counterproductive idea.”
And Mike Kink, the head of the union-backed Strong Economy for All Coalition, said the Senate should seek more information about Delaney’s role at the group.
“Anyone who’s concerned about economic justice should be concerned about this nominee’s connections” to the foundation, Kink said. “The group Delaney helped head has shielded corporate polluters and fraudsters while fighting eviction protections for tenants and fair taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations. The Senate must closely question this nominee and assure Americans he’ll work on the bench for regular people who need the law on their side, not just for the rich and powerful.”
On the right, meanwhile, Delaney’s link to NELF is the opposite of a red flag.
“If in fact he is conservative-leaning, then perhaps it was not the best move for Republicans to oppose his nomination,” said Josh Blackman, a conservative law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston.
Andrew Bates, a White House spokesperson, said the president’s support for Delaney is unchanged. “We are unmoved by an affiliation the President’s extraordinarily qualified nominee disclosed to the public and the Senate months ago, in the most thorough and transparent way available,” Bates said. “This is also the first we have heard any concerns about this expressed at all; and we are skeptical of complaints that surface in the press before we have heard them privately.”
At the Senate Judiciary Committee’s February nomination hearing, members pressed Delaney on his work for a boarding school that was sued over its handling of a sexual assault, as POLITICO has detailed.
Delaney has also taken some heat from the left for signing a brief defending a New Hampshire abortion restriction when he worked in the New Hampshire attorney general’s office. The brief backed a New Hampshire law requiring minors to notify their parents before receiving abortions. The law has since been repealed.
But Delaney has received broad support from a host of other groups, including numerous former state attorneys general and the head of New Hampshire’s Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children.
His home state senators, Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both strongly supported his nomination. Their spokespersons told POLITICO they still firmly back him.
“Before considering Michael Delaney’s nomination, Senator Shaheen reviewed his full record, which includes his fierce defense of LGBTQ rights, bringing criminals to justice and leading one of the most significant legal battles against a massive oil company in New Hampshire state history,” said Sarah Weinstein, a spokesperson for Shaheen. “Michael Delaney’s wide scope of supporters includes individuals in the advocacy and legal sectors, as well as judges on the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which reaffirm his respected reputation as a public servant committed to seeking justice.”
Laura Epstein, a spokesperson for Hassan, sent a similar statement. “His background has been thoroughly vetted, and throughout his career, he has shown a strong commitment to justice, including supporting civil rights and the environment,” Epstein said. “His strong, bipartisan support from a wide cross-section of leaders — from public defenders to Attorneys General from 20 states across the country to the CEO of New Hampshire’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) — underscores why he will make for an excellent First Circuit Judge.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 4, 2023
‘Worst-case scenario’: Rick Wilson on Tucker Carlson, presidential nominee

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The most irresponsible thing you can do these days is look away from the worst-case scenario.” So says Rick Wilson. In the week Fox News fired Tucker Carlson, Wilson’s worst-case scenario is this: a successful Carlson campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Wilson is a longtime Republican operative turned co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and a media company, Resolute Square, for which he hosts the Enemies List podcast.
He says: “Tucker is one of the very small number of political celebrities in this country who has the name ID, the personal wealth, the stature to actually declare and run for president and in a Republican primary run in the same track Donald Trump did: the transgressive, bad boy candidate, the one who lets you say what you want to say, think what you want to think, act how you want to act, no matter how grotesque it is.
“Among Republicans, he’s a beloved figure. He’s right now in the Republican universe a martyr – and there ain’t nothing they want more than a martyr.”
Carlson’s martyrdom came suddenly on Monday, in the aftermath of the settled Dominion Voter Systems defamation suit over Trump’s election lies and their broadcast by Fox News. The prime-time host, a ratings juggernaut, was gone.
On Wednesday night, the New York Times reported that Carlson’s dismissal involved “highly offensive and crude remarks” in messages included in the Dominion suit, if redacted in court filings. Carlson, 53, released a cryptic video in which he said: “Where can you still find Americans saying true things? There aren’t many places left, but there are some … see you soon.”
Other than that, he has not hinted what’s next. To many, a presidential campaign may seem unthinkable. To Wilson, that is precisely the reason to think it.
Before Trump launched in 2016, “people used to say, ‘Trump? There’s no way he’ll run. He’s a clown. He’s a reality TV guy. Nobody ever is gonna take that seriously’ … right up until he won the nomination. And then they said, ‘Oh, don’t worry, it can’t be that bad. What could possibly be as bad as you think?’ Well, everything.

“And so I think we live in a world where the most irresponsible thing you can do is look away from the worst-case scenario. I do believe that if Tucker ran for president, there is an argument to be made that he’s the one person who could beat Trump.”
Rick Wilson: ‘Fox is all back in on Trump.’ Photograph: Rick Wilson
In the words of the New York Times, at Fox Carlson created “what may be the most racist show in the history of cable news – and also … the most successful”. Pursuing far-right talking points, he channelled the Republican base.
Now he has lost that platform. Wilson discounts a move to another network or a startup, like the Daily Caller Carlson co-founded in 2010, after leaving CNN and MSNBC. But to Wilson, Carlson has precious assets for any political campaign: “He has an understanding of the camera, he has an understanding of the news media, infrastructure and ecosystem. He can present. He can talk.”
Which leads Wilson to Ron DeSantis, still Trump’s closest challenger in polling, though he has not declared a run. Carlson “is unlike Ron DeSantis. He can talk to people, you know? He is the guy who can engage people on a human basis. Ron is not that guy.”
The Florida governor has fallen as Trump has surged, boosted by his own claimed martyrdom over his criminal indictment and other legal problems. DeSantis has also scored own-goals, from his fight with Disney to his failure to charm his own party, perceived personal failings prompting endorsements for Trump.
Wilson thinks DeSantis’s decision to run in a “Tucker Carlson primary”, courting the far right, may now rebound.
“DeSantis’s people had been bragging for a year. ‘Oh, we’re winning the Tucker primary. His audience loves us. We’re gonna be on Tucker.’ And it was an interesting dependency. It was an advantage that DeSantis was booked on Fox all the time and on Tucker, and mentioned on Tucker very frequently. But that has now disappeared. Fox is all back in on Trump.”
Wilson knows a thing or two about Republican fundraising. If Carlson ran, he says, he would “absolutely destroy with small donors. He would raise uncounted millions. Mega-donors would not go for it. The racial aspect of Tucker is not exactly hidden. I think that would be a disqualifier for a lot of wealthy donors. But Tucker could offset it. He would be a massive draw in that email fundraising hamster wheel.
“Remember, in 2016 the large-donor money for Trump was very late in the game. Before that, they were all with Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz or Chris Christie.
“I have very high confidence you’re gonna see another iteration of, you know, ‘We love you Ron, we’re never leaving you Ron,’ and then they’re gonna call him one day and say, ‘Hey, Ron, I love you, man. But you’re young. Try again next time.’ And they’ll hang up with Ron and go, ‘Mr Trump, where do I send my million dollars?’
“I’ve been to that rodeo too many times now.”
So if Carlson does enter the arena, and does buck DeSantis into the cheap seats, can he do the same to Trump?
“This iteration of Trump’s campaign is a lot smarter than the last one. I predict they would say, ‘Let’s bring Tucker in as VP and stop all this chaos, be done with it. You know, there are very few good options [for Trump] if Tucker gets in the race.”
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson? It seems outlandish.
“Again, I think the worst thing we can do is imagine the worst-case scenario can never happen. Because the worst-case scenario has happened any number of times in the last eight years.”
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 27, 2023
Menendez rejects any substitutes in push for Latino Fed nominee

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Menendez’s position gives the White House some flexibility as it aims to fill the slot vacated by Lael Brainard, now President Joe Biden’s top economic policy adviser. But the New Jerseyan also said tapping a Hispanic person for another top vacant position, such as the Treasury Department’s chief economist or the open seat on Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, wouldn’t be enough.
An administration official said the White House has floated those options to Menendez.
“Look, I’m not going to work against my own efforts,” Menendez said. “They have raised that there may be other positions as well, and if it’s as well, that’s great. But I don’t want to hear that it’s in place of.”
The vice chair search process is in a holding pattern while the White House figures out how to satisfy the senator, who has gotten support for his push from fellow members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, as well as other lawmakers, such as Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
Northwestern University professor Janice Eberly, a former Treasury official under President Barack Obama, has been seen as a frontrunner for the vice chair job.
A Latino person has never had a vote on interest rate policy at the Fed, something that has rankled Menendez for years. He voted against Powell’s confirmation to a second term to protest that multiple regional Fed president jobs have been filled in recent years, and none of them have gone to Hispanic candidates.
The administration official said one option could be to elevate Philip Jefferson, appointed to the Fed last year by Biden, to vice chair and pick a Latino nominee for the open board seat. (This option was previously reported by the Wall Street Journal.)
The vice chair position usually goes to a Ph.D. economist with an extensive background in monetary policy, a relatively limited group of people, whereas the pool of candidates for other board seats has traditionally been much bigger.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said it was important to fill the No. 2 spot soon.
“We need a person who has a demonstrated record for holding banks accountable, and someone who will push back against Chair Powell, reminding him that the Fed does not have one job: inflation,” she told reporters Wednesday. “It has two jobs: inflation and jobs.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 27, 2023
GOP tries to paint Biden’s labor nominee as radical, hoping to turn Dem votes against her

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A handful of Senate Democrats have yet to commit to confirming Su, who stepped in as acting secretary after Marty Walsh left the Labor Department’s top job in mid-March to take over as head of the NHL players’ union.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), one of Su’s chief proponents, downplayed concerns about her confirmation, saying her endorsement from Walsh, who was popular with some Republicans, and meetings with senators will help convince moderates to vote for her.
“She’s doing the best job of the whole thing, which is she’s sitting down and making herself available and she’s had a very good meeting with a large number of” senators, Duckworth said in an interview. “And so I think it’s progressing very nicely.”
Duckworth added: “I think she’s making the case for herself. And I think Marty Walsh coming out as strongly as he has in support of her work, is a very helpful voice to have out there.”
Su told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is weighing her nomination, she would be an honest broker in the job.
“I have been a leader dedicated to finding and expanding the vast areas of common ground between employers and employees,” she said. “I believe that the Department of Labor should make it as easy as possible for employers to keep workers safe on the job.”
Business groups have targeted Su, fearful that she would pursue regulations that would have major ramifications for app-based companies like Uber and Lyft, franchise restaurants and other employers. The gig-job companies, for instance, are battling efforts to make it easier to reclassify some workers as as employees, which would strain their business models.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the Senate committee considering Su’s nomination, cited that industry pressure in his opening remarks Thursday praising Su.

“The debate over Ms. Su really has nothing to do with her qualifications,” he said. “This debate really has everything to do with the fact that she is a champion of the working class in this country.”
Republicans spent much of Thursday’s hearing trying to poke holes in Su’s record at the Labor Department and as a top labor official in California before that, hoping to crack Democratic unity.
Republicans hammered Su for her stewardship of California’s unemployment insurance system, which issued tens of billions in wrongful or fraudulent payments in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. As labor secretary, Su would be in charge of the federal-state partnership on UI.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing for Julie Su to be the Labor Secretary on Capitol Hill, April 20, 2023.
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Alex Brandon/AP Photo
“The buck stops at the top,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said. “You’re the person running UI, you’re the one who decided to waive the guardrails … the idea of promoting a person who’s had that experience to a position of leadership of the entire Department of Labor makes no sense at all.”
GOP senators also pressed Su for regulatory commitments on independent contractor and joint employer regulations. Su reiterated the Labor Department’s position that it does not have the authority to impose a test similar to California’s controversial “ABC” test for whether a worker is an employee or not and said that the department does not plan to pursue a joint employment rule, which could make companies like fast-food chains liable for violations at their franchises.
“There’s not a joint-employer rule on our regulatory agenda,” Su said, adding that she understands the value of the franchise model given her family’s experience running a pizza shop after immigrating from China.
Republicans also criticized her for a relative lack of experience brokering collective bargaining negotiations — a specialty of Walsh’s — a move geared at sowing doubts among the undecided cohort that includes Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Su’s nomination is a high-stakes test for Sanders, who took the committee’s gavel in January, as well as the White House, which has at times struggled to shepherd labor nominees through the narrowly divided Senate.
The HELP committee has scheduled a confirmation vote for Su next Wednesday, which would clear the way for a final floor vote later in the year.
Kelly and Tester both said Thursday they’re still undecided on whether they will support her for the position, with Tester saying that he plans to meet one-on-one with Su next week “hopefully.”
Democrats’ calculus is further complicated by the ongoing absence of Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), who is recovering from shingles and has not been in Washington for several weeks.
When asked about any concerns to get Su confirmed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer dodged the question and said: “She’s a great nominee and we’re working hard to get her confirmed.”
Su has won the support of some business groups, such as the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, but her strongest support comes from labor unions and organizations representing Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. If confirmed, Su would be Biden’s first AAPI Cabinet secretary and join three other AAPI Cabinet members.
Unions have recently begun stepping up their efforts on behalf of Su. The AFL-CIO is rolling out a six-figure campaign that includes ads in D.C. and Arizona — home to Kelly and Sinema, both of whom voted to confirm Su as deputy secretary but are on the fence — and is considering whether to expand to other states.
“This is the time for them to show who they stand with: Is it workers, or is it big corporations?” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler told reporters Wednesday. “If you voted for her as deputy secretary, the only thing that’s changed is that she has actually more experience and more expertise.”
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#GOP #paint #Bidens #labor #nominee #radical #hoping #turn #Dem #votes
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023
5 things to know about secretary of Labor nominee Julie Su

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Biden’s first AAPI cabinet secretary, if confirmed
Su would be the Biden administration’s first AAPI Cabinet secretary, if confirmed, joining fellow AAPI Cabinet members Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar.
Su, a daughter of Chinese immigrants, also speaks Mandarin, Spanish and English.
“When he announced my nomination for U.S. Secretary of Labor, the President called me ‘the American Dream,’” Su said during testimony Thursday. “My parents believed in it, I benefited from it, and I want to do my part to make sure it is a reality for workers across the nation.”
California tenure
Before joining the Department of Labor, Su served in several top spots in California state government, including as labor secretary under Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Su served as the California labor commissioner from 2011 to 2018, then as secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency from 2019 until 2021.
Prior to that, she worked as a lawyer for low-wage and immigrant workers, including at a legal aid nonprofit in Los Angeles.
Labor case of over 70 enslaved Thai workers
While Su was a lawyer for low-wage and immigrant workers in 1995, she represented more than 70 undocumented Thai garment workers forced to work under sweatshop conditions — a case that gained widespread attention at the time.
Su’s anti-sweatshop work won her international recognition when she was awarded a McArthur Foundation “genius” grant in 2001.

Sweatshop Watch founding
Su co-founded the organization Sweatshop Watch in 1995, which worked to improve working conditions for garment workers in the United States.
Over the past decade, the coalition, in collaboration with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, has brought cases on behalf of hundreds of low-wage, immigrant and often undocumented women in the clothing industry against major corporations who use sweatshops to manufacture the garments they sell.
Deputy position nomination scrutiny
When Su was confirmed in 2021 to be deputy secretary, she faced scrutiny from Senate Republicans on her leadership of California’s Labor Department.
Republicans focused on Su’s involvement in large-scale unemployment insurance fraud and employee classification legislation that was later partially overturned by California voters.
Su’s record is likely to face even more scrutiny, and she will have to answer for moves made by DOL during Walsh’s tenure. Among those moves will be the Biden administration’s handling of the freight rail labor standoff last year, in which Su played a central role.
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#secretary #Labor #nominee #Julie
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 20, 2023
Indian-American Ajay Banga sole nominee to lead World Bank

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Washington: The World Bank has said that Indian-American Ajay Banga is the only candidate nominated for the President’s position as the nomination period closed on March 29.
The World Bank announced that Ajay Banga will be considered for the position.
In a press release issued on its website, the World Bank said, “The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today confirmed that, as announced on February 22, the period for submitting nominations for the position of the next President of the World Bank Group closed on Wednesday, March 29 at 6:00 pm ET.”
The World Bank further said, “The Board received one nomination and would like to announce that Mr. Ajay Banga, a U.S. national, will be considered for the position.” The World Bank said that a formal interview will be conducted with the candidate in Washington DC.
The World Bank in a statement said that a formal interview will be conducted with the candidate. It said, “In accordance with established procedures, the Board of Executive Directors will conduct a formal interview with the candidate in Washington D.C., and expect to conclude the Presidential selection in due course.”
In February, US President Joe Biden nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank. In a statement, Biden noted that Ajay Banga is “uniquely” equipped to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in history.
Biden’s statement reads, “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results.”
In his statement, US President Joe Biden noted, “Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity.”

Biden’s decision came after World Bank Group President David Malpass informed the Board of Executive Directors of his intention to step down from his position by the end of the Bank Group’s fiscal year on June 30.
Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation, according to the statement released by the White House.
Over the course of his career, Ajay Banga has become a global leader in technology, data, financial services and innovating for inclusion. He is the honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He is also Chairman of Exor and Independent Director at Temasek. He became an advisor to General Atlantic’s climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021.
Previously, Ajay Banga served on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. He has worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
Previously, Ajay Banga has served on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. He has worked closely with US Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation.
He is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York and served as a member of President Obama’s Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, according to the statement released by the White House. He is a past member of the U.S. President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
Ajay Banga was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri Award by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding’s Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 31, 2023
Ted Cruz helped kill Biden’s FAA nominee. Now he has thoughts about a replacement.

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On the other hand, Nolen would not represent the clean break from industry dominance at the FAA that Biden had promised with his original nominee, Denver airport CEO Phil Washington. Washington withdrew his nomination on Saturday, following attacks from Cruz and other critics who called him too inexperienced.
The questions about Washington’s successor offer Biden a fundamental choice in what direction to take the FAA, an agency that has presided over an era of unprecedented safety in air travel but has also faced doubts about its oversight of companies such as Boeing, whose 737 MAX jetliner killed 346 people in crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia in 2018 and 2019.
The White House hasn’t announced any plans for a new FAA nominee and did not respond to a request for comment Monday. On Saturday, the White House said it would move quickly to nominate another candidate.
Cruz led the opposition to Washington as the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, which vets FAA nominations. But Washington had also faced doubts from non-GOP lawmakers on the panel.
Those include Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who said in a statement Monday that Biden “should quickly nominate a permanent FAA Administrator with the necessary, substantial aviation safety experience and expertise.” Sinema and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) had both declined to declare a stance on Washington before Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) postponed a committee vote on his nomination last week.
Cantwell, who gave a tepid reaction to Washington’s nomination when it was first announced, spent months avoiding taking a position on him. She finally came out in support of him early this year, arguing that the FAA needed a fresh, independent voice.
Now, if Nolen gets the nod, Cantwell would face the possibility of advancing a new nominee who is ingrained in the aviation industry.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), who was a major backer of Washington’s nomination, said Monday he wants to see the White House nominate someone from outside FAA for the permanent role.

“I think Billy Nolen’s done a great job. I think they would be better served to get someone from the outside but Billy Nolen is certainly a very talented public servant,” Hickenlooper said, adding that he was frustrated that Washington’s nomination was stalled in part by Democrats.
Besides being a pilot, Nolen spent time at the aviation industry’s trade group Airlines for America after a long career at American Airlines before joining the FAA in early 2022.
Nolen, like Washington, would be the first Black person to serve as the FAA’s permanent administrator if confirmed.
Cruz endorsed Nolen during an aviation safety hearing earlier this month, asking Democrats on the panel: “Do you think Phil Washington could come anywhere close to acting Administrator Nolen’s knowledge? I think the answer is no.”
Cruz said in his podcast on Monday that his endorsement of Nolen “was an audible” called in the middle of the hearing.
“I turned back to my staff and said, ‘What do you think about Nolen? Would it be crazy for me to suggest right now that they should withdraw Washington and nominate Nolen?’” Cruz said. “And my guys were like ‘No, that’s fine.’”
Cruz added that a former Biden White House official reached out afterward to say his remarks had caught the administration’s attention.
Aviation industry consultant Robert Mann also said Nolen would be an obvious choice.
“We have a very competent acting administrator in Mr. Nolen,” said Mann, who works with airlines operators to make their flight operations more efficient. “He’s been doing the job and he’s been responding to issues.”
In contrast, Mann said Washington’s lack of knowledge about aviation showed itself during his confirmation hearing this month, where Cruz asked him detailed questions about technical issues such as the 737 MAX’s “angle of attack” sensors. While conceding that “I’m not a pilot,” Washington contended that his career as an Army officer and his leadership of transit agencies had shown his ability to manage large organizations.
Still, “I don’t know why he was proposed, to be perfectly honest,” Mann said of Washington. “At the end of the day you have to actually understand something about the business.”
On the other hand, Nolen’s nomination would not win unanimous support.
Michael Stumo, who helped draft a letter in support of Washington from family members of people killed in the 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia, said Nolen probably disqualified himself from winning their support after telling senators this month that the plane is safe. Nolen was responding to questions from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) about recent, nonfatal incidents involving Boeing’s jet, which returned to service in late 2020.
“I can say categorically that the 737 MAX … is safe,” Nolen said during that hearing, while adding that he “would want to know more” about the incidents Vance was citing.
That was troubling, said Stumo, who lost his daughter Samya in the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March 2019.
“He said the MAX qualified as safe but he didn’t know about the [most recent] incidents,” Stumo said. “That is … probably disqualifying in my view.”
Vance, in an interview on Monday, said Cruz’s call to elevate Nolen permanently was an “interesting suggestion” but said he is not set on supporting Nolen himself yet.
“He clearly knows his stuff, that’s one thing I’d say,” Vance said. “He knows a lot about the aviation industry, which is unfortunately something I wouldn’t say for Mr. Washington.”
Groups speculating about potential leaders for the FAA in the past have floated names including C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger, the retired US Airways pilot who safely landed a passenger jet on the water during the January 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson.” Sullenberger left his Senate-confirmed role as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization last July after five months on the job, and didn’t give a reason for his departure.
One union coalition that supported Washington’s nomination was at a loss Monday on who should get the nod now.
“From my perspective, it’s not like we have been asked about potential backups at this point,” said Greg Regan, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department. “I think there was the full commitment to try to get him across the finish line. Phil had their full trust and support. I think there’s a little bit of urgency here with how they move next.”
Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 28, 2023
Biden’s FAA nominee bows out, after senators waver

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Pressure has been growing for the FAA to have a confirmed leader, as the aviation system continues to show signs of strain — in particular with an uptick of near-collisions on runways.
Washington’s decision comes just days after the Senate Commerce Committee, which is vetting his nomination, postponed a vote to advance Washington to the Senate floor. Two senators who caucus with Democrats on the panel, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) have been undecided on his nomination — and the committee only has a one-vote majority.
A White House official defended Washington’s qualifications and blamed an “onslaught of unfounded Republican attacks” that “irresponsibly delayed this process, threatened unnecessary procedural hurdles, and ultimately have led him to withdraw his nomination.” The official said the administration will swiftly move to nominate another candidate.
Reuters first reported that Washington was withdrawing his nomination.
Washington has faced a steady drumbeat of criticism, mostly from Republicans, because his only experience in aviation is the now nearly two-year stint leading the Denver airport. Prior to that, Washington had a background in leading transit agencies following a career in the Army. Washington also had been named in a politically-tinged corruption probe in Los Angeles County that the California Attorney General eventually stepped in front of.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has led the opposition, and most recently has insisted that Washington also needs a waiver from Congress to serve in the position because, by law, the FAA’s administrator must be a civilian. Democrats have insisted that the statute does not apply to him.
In a statement, Cruz said “this wasn’t the time for an administrator who needed on-the-job training,”
“The Biden administration must now quickly name someone to head the FAA who has an extensive aviation background, can earn widespread bipartisan support in the Senate, and will keep the flying public safe,” Cruz said.

Washington’s withdraw came two days after Buttigieg voiced public support for the nomination, vowing to “persuade anyone who needs persuading” after the delayed committee vote.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said Washington “has the qualifications and experience to lead the FAA.”
“The FAA requires strong and independent leadership from someone who will focus on safety,” Cantwell said in a statement. “Republicans chose to drum up falsehoods rather than give the flying public and the aviation industry the leadership needed now.”
Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen will continue to lead the agency until the Senate confirms a permanent leader. Cruz has argued that Nolen, a former pilot, could be swiftly confirmed to the top job but recently Nolen has publicly voiced support for Washington’s nomination.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 26, 2023
Biden’s nominee for IRS chief confirmed by Senate

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Republicans, meanwhile, have promised to grill Werfel on everything from what they view as the agency’s excessive funding to the leak of confidential taxpayer information.
Senate Finance Committee Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said in a floor speech Wednesday that Werfel can handle the crosswinds, given his stint as acting commissioner of the IRS in 2013 after the resignation of his predecessor over allegations that the agency unfairly targeted conservative organizations who were seeking tax-exempt status.
“For Mr. Werfel to get bipartisan support to lead the IRS at a time when a lot of Republicans would happily mothball the entire agency is a testament to his fairness, his ability to work with both sides and his undeniable qualification for this role,” said Wyden.
Werfel, whom Biden plucked from a top job at Boston Consulting Group, had stints at the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Justice Department under Republican and Democratic administrations.
His overriding order of business at the IRS will be managing how the unprecedented $80 billion influx is spent. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had promised to deliver a blueprint for the spending by February, but missed the deadline.
In addition to playing defense with Republicans, lawmakers also want to see improved customer service — an abysmal 250 million of 282 million calls to the taxpayer help line went unanswered in 2021 — and upgrades to the computer systems that lawmakers from both sides consider woefully outdated.
IRS employees have also traditionally had to manually enter information from paper returns number by number, a labor-intensive process that severely bogged down the agency during the pandemic and that Treasury hopes to now fix with new digital scanning technologies.
Republicans, however, say the administration’s true intent is to unleash an army of auditors on middle-class taxpayers and small businesses, with Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) saying Wednesday that achieving the agency’s collection targets will be impossible without violating Yellen’s pledge to not increase audits on those making less than $400,000.

Werfel managed to alleviate at least some of those concerns for the Republicans who voted for him: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Todd Young of Indiana.
“Danny Werfel showed an openness to different ways to update IRS processes. This is long overdue,” said Cassidy on why he voted for Biden’s pick.
Young added that former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who led the OMB under George W. Bush while Werfel was climbing the ranks there, attested to the Biden nominee’s competency and non-partisan nature.
Still, Werfel’s bona fides didn’t prove enough to sway most of the GOP conference, with several indicating their no votes were cast out of general frustration with the tax policy charted by Biden and Yellen.
Those skeptical Republicans got an unexpected boost from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who voted against Werfel amid a fierce battle over the administration’s handling of some provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act enacted last year, including those that require components of batteries for electric vehicles to be made in the United States and the opening of new oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I hope they come to their senses and do what the bill says that should be done,” said Manchin, who nonetheless called Werfel “supremely qualified.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 9, 2023
Manchin to oppose Biden’s nominee to head IRS

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Manchin’s move also comes as he faces the prospect of a tough reelection race next year in his Republican-leaning state. He has not said whether he’ll run for another term.
Manchin’s opposition is unlikely endanger Werfel’s nomination, which appears assured. Werfel won bipartisan support on the chamber’s Finance Committee, with three Republicans there backing him. The Senate is expected to vote on Werfel’s confirmation Wednesday evening.
“At every turn, this administration has ignored congressional intent when implementing the Inflation Reduction Act,” Manchin said, referring to the law that includes the tax incentives. “First and foremost, the IRA is an energy security bill with clear and direct guidelines to ensure we are able to onshore our supply and manufacturing chains.”
“But instead of adhering to Congressional intent and prioritizing our nation’s energy and national security, the Treasury Department has pandered to automakers and progressive extreme groups and continued to sacrifice the national security of the United States.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 8, 2023