The office of President of the United States has such vast responsibilities that our Founding Fathers realized aides were necessary to oversee important areas and report back to the President as well as both Houses of Congress. The collection of these executive aides is the President’s Cabinet. Because cabinet positions are tasked with tremendous responsibilities, including distributing billions of dollars into various projects or programs, each person who is nominated for a Cabinet position must be approved and confirmed by the Senate. Since World War II, American Presidents have chosen to add additional positions on their Executive teams in order to concentrate on certain issues. These positions are not Cabinet level and, most often, do not require Congressional confirmation; instead, they are advisory roles or directorships of projects – commonly referred to as “czars.”
White House north lawn
From its start, the practice of appointing “czars” has been controversial due to their complete autonomy from Congressional review. Critics point to the potential for subverting Congressional powers which would create havoc in the system of checks-and-balances in the government. It also creates an opportunity for corruption and for promoting secret agendas. President George W. Bush appointed 35 czars during his 8 year tenure in office, which drew criticism from both the left and the right.
As a citizen who believes in limited government and states’ rights, I am not comfortable with 
the appointment of anyone in government who has no oversight and is not held to certain reputable standards. However, having lived in Washington, DC for many years, I realize that most of the government employees throughout the various Cabinet Departments have just as little supervision as the more visible “czars.” This conundrum leaves the American people in quite a predicament…just who is watching whom? Who is actually wielding power?
Rep. Patrick McHenry
Jordan Fabian of The Hill reports that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), who is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has “called for President Obama’s ‘czars,’ or appointed high-level advisers, to testify before Congress about their ‘authority and responsibilities’ in the executive branch.” McHenry states, “If the czars have high-level, decision-making authority as their titles would indicate, then it is my concern that their appointment without Senate approval represents a circumvention of our Constitutionally-mandated confirmation process.”
Senator Robert Byrd
The Obama Administration is rife with “czars.” Even the longest serving Senator in the history of the United States, Sen. Robert Byrd, a Democrat from West Virginia, is said to be outraged with the czar appointments. Townhall.com’s Ken Klukowski reports the following:
“Senator Byrd wrote a letter to President Obama in February, criticizing the president’s strategy of creating czars to manage important areas of national policy. Senator Byrd said that these appointments violate both the constitutional system of checks and balances and the constitutional separation of powers, and is a clear attempt to evade congressional oversight. (Didn’t this White House promise unprecedented transparency?)
And Senator Byrd is exactly correct. The Constitution commands that government officers with significant authority (called “principal officers”) are nominated by the president but then are subject to a confirmation vote by the U.S. Senate. And principal officers include not only cabinet-level department heads, but go five levels deep in executive appointments, to include assistant secretaries and deputy undersecretaries.”
After living through the multitude of Bush appointments, it would seem a waste of breath to complain about Obama’s czars. However, not only are the number of “czars” of concern – most upsetting is the particular people chosen to fill those positions. Obama has surrounded himself mainly with cronies who are extreme in their vision of governing: they are confessed communists, socialists, ultra-liberal radicals, and in two cases, criminals!
Below is a list of Obama’s “czars” to date. Over the next weeks, we will examine some of the controversial people who have been tapped to advise and operate as “czars” in the Obama Administration.
The unsavory character of many of these advisors and directors brings this American citizen to question the true character and unspoken agenda of our President. Are these the types of people that should be leading and directing our country? Is this the “change” that you wanted? If not, let your Senators and Representatives know your opinion. Now is the time to speak, else we will soon be living in a Socialist state. And that is…Why It Matters.
OBAMA’S CZARS
AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN CZAR: Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan -Richard Holbrooke
AIDS CZAR: Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy – Jeffrey Crowley
AUTO RECOVERY CZAR: Director of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers – Ed Montgomery
BAILOUT CZAR: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability – Herbert Allison, Jr.
BORDER CZAR: Asst. Sec. for International Affairs and Special Rep. for Border Affairs – Alan Bersin
CALIFORNIA WATER CZAR: Deputy Interior Secretary – David J. Hayes
CAR CZAR: Counselor to the Sec. of the Treasury, head of Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry – Ron Bloom
CLIMATE CHANGE CZAR: Special Envoy for Climate Change – Todd Stern
COUNTERTERRORISM CZAR: Asst. to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism – John Brennan
CYBERSECURITY CZAR: Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils – Melissa Hathaway
DISINFORMATION CZAR: Director of Communications for the Office of Health Reform – Linda Douglass
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CZAR: WH Advisor on Violence Against Women – Lynn Rosenthal
DRUG CZAR: Dir. Of the Office of National Drug Control Policy – Gil Kerlikowske
ECONOMIC CZAR 1: Chairman of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board – Paul Volcker
ECONOMIC CZAR 2: Head of National Economic Council – Larry Summers
EDUCATION CZAR: Secretary of Education – Arne Duncan
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CZAR: Asst to the President for Energy and Climate Change – Carol Browner
FAITH-BASED INITIATIVES CZAR (RELIGION CZAR): Dir. of the Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships – Joshua DuBois
FOOD CZAR: Senior Advisor To The Commissioner of the FDA – Michael Taylor
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE CZAR: Chief Performance Officer – Jeffrey Zients
GREAT LAKES CZAR: Special Advisor to the EPA in Overseeing its Great Lakes Restoration Plan – Cameron Davis
GREEN JOBS CZAR: Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the WH Council on Environmental Quality – t.b.a (Van Jones resigned)
GUANTANAMO CLOSURE CZAR: Special Envoy to Oversee the Closure of the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay – Daniel Fried
HEALTH CZAR: Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform – Nancy-Ann DeParle
INFOTECH CZAR: Federal Chief Information Officer – Vivek Kundra
INTELLIGENCE CZAR: Director Of National Intelligence – Dennis Blair
LATIN AMERICAN CZAR: Assistant Secretary Of State For Western Hemisphere Affairs – Arturo Valenzuela
MIDEAST PEACE CZAR: Special Envoy For Middle East Peace – George Mitchell
MIDEAST POLICY CZAR: Special Asst. To The President and Senior Dir. For The Central Region (Mid-East & South Asia) – Dennis Ross
PAY CZAR: Special Master On Executive Pay – Kenneth Feinberg
REGULATORY CZAR: Admin. Of The Wh Office Of Info & Reg. Affairs – Cass Sunstein
SAFE SCHOOLS CZAR: Asst. Dep. Sec. Of Education, Office Of Safe And Drug Free Schools – Kevin Jennings
SCIENCE CZAR: Asst. To The President for Science and Technology, Dir. Of The Wh Office Of Sci And Tech Policy, And Co-Chair Of The President’s Council Of Advisors On Sci And Tech – John Holdren
STIMULUS OVERSIGHT CZAR: Chair Of The Recovery Act Transparency And Accountability Board – Earl Devaney
SUDAN CZAR: Special Envoy To Sudan – J. Scott Gration
TARP Czar 1: Chair, Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Assets Relief Programs – Elizabeth Warren
TARP CZAR 2: Asst. Sec of the Treasury for Financial Stability – Herb Allison
TECHNOLOGY CZAR: Chief Technology Officer – Aneesh Chopra
TRADE CZAR: United States Trade Representative – Ron Kirk
URBAN AFFAIRS CZAR: White House Director of Urban Affairs – Adolfo Carrion
WAR CZAR: Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan – Lt. General Douglas Lute, USA
WEAPONS CZAR: Under Sec. of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics -Ashton Carter
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION CZAR: White House Coordinator for WMD, Security and Arms Control – Gary Samore
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Why It Matters 
I don‘t know If I said it already but …Hey good stuff…keep up the good work! 🙂 I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,)
…..Frank Scurley
Thanks for your encouraging remarks! Unlike many of the soley-opinion oriented blogs, I research the subject thoroughly and then draw conclusions as to how a particular topic could affect the average American. I grew up in a rural area in the South, but have spent my adult years in NYC and DC; so I hope that I have, perhaps, a more balanced view at the political arena’s fallout than some. It is very nice to know that I have made some sense in my observations! Again, thanks for the nod! Cheers, A.