Role of White House Czars Sparks Battle

The uproar over former White House adviser Van Jones has heightened attention on the ranks of nonconfirmed policy "czars" within the Obama administration. The use of special White House advisers and the czar moniker itself go back decades, but government watchers say President Barack Obama has appointed an unusual number of senior coordinators, especially for a president so early in his administration. They have responsibilities ranging from health care and climate change to Afghanistan and the auto sector. Some Republicans, fanned by conservative commentators' warnings that these advisers constitute a shadow government, have seized on the czar issue to criticize Mr. Obama for trying to push policy initiatives outside normal bureaucratic channels. Republicans, including Sen Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep Darrell Issa (R-CA), say that the use of these special advisers has run amok, and that their powers should be curbed. The issue flared in recent weeks at dozens of congressional town-hall meetings. One concern about czars centers on the fact that many of these appointments aren't subject to confirmation by Congress. To have them running the government, rather than simply assisting the president, "is an affront to the Constitution," Sen Alexander said. Sen Robert Byrd (D-WV) warned earlier this year that the growth of czars could sap congressional authority.