Chapter 8
The offical title of “czar” was once used by Russia to signify that nation’s monarchial head. In previous centuries Russian czars, like other European monarchs such as kings and queens, were quite often dictators, reaching high office through undemocratic means while exercising broad legislative and executive authority. Today in the United States a number of positions in the executive branch of government are referred to unofficially as “czars.” The title seems to have caught on for one of two reasons: either (1) the person selected for the job was expected to lead an effort to solve a particularly difficult problem (e.g., the “drug czar“ coordinates the federal effort to mitigate the illegal drug trade in the United States), or (2) the person was selected by the president with the clear expectation that congressional approval was unnecessary. Often both reasons apply to the appointment of these special bureaucratic leaders. As coordinators of a very wide array of agencies, they usually enjoy close working relationships with the president. No wonder the the modern czar is considered such a powerful force in American politics.
Presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt have been making these special “czarist“ appointments. During the administrations of FDR and most of his successors, the number of bureaucratic czars appointed per president has been in the single digits. President Kennedy appointed none, Nixon just three, Reagan just one, and George H. W. Bush a mere two czars in all. A new trend began with George W. Bush, who created more than 30 of these positions, and continued with Barack Obama, who in his first 15 months in office set a record number of czarist appointments at 38. While a handful of Obama’s appoinments have been confirmed by the Senate, the vast bulk of them were never approved, making them the target of critics who believe the president has usurped congressional authority. The criticism may have reached its peak in August 2009 when Van Jones, President Obama’s “Special Advisor” for “Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation,” resigned when it was discovered that he supported a number of socialist policies. The Senate approval process might have turned up this concern much earlier.
Some of the high-profile Obama-appointed “czars” include:
- John Brennen, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism
- George Mitchell, Special Envoy to the Middle East
- Cameron Davis, Special Advisor to the EPA Administrator
- Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board
- Kenneth Feinberg, Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation
- Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change
- Ed Montgomery, Director of Recovery for Auto Workers and Communities
- Do you think that all high level appointments made by the president should require congressional confirmation before they can serve?
- Should the so-called czars be formally confirmed by the Senate just as are all cabinet-level and many sub-cabinet-level appointments?
- What accounts for the increased use of czars by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack?
- Has the growth and increased complexity of the federal bureaucracy created an atmosphere wherein presidents need a special advisor to coordinate agencies in a specific problem area?