Julie Myers: Not Qualified
By streiff Posted in Elections — Comments (35) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
This is difficult story for me to write because I emphatically support the right of the president, any president, to appoint just about anyone he wants to any appointive office. It is his administration. He deserves to have his team. Equally, I am an implacable opponent of the idea that direct experience in a field is a prerequisite for most jobs, political or otherwise. While I might have reason to prefer that a doctor perform my heart surgery or an engineer design the aircraft I’m flying in, I see no good reason to require either the head of the hospital to be a doctor or the head of the Boeing to be an engineer.
There comes a time, however, when the ability and the right to appoint persons to an office trends perilously close to abuse of that ability and right.
Julie Myers is a case in point.
Read on.
Update [2005-9-21 13:43:37 by streiff]: More here from Michelle Malkin
Update [2005-9-21 15:57:10 by streiff]: DougD points out that Myers is now Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel and no longer Commerce's Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement as I report.
Julie Myers is the current nominee to become the Assistant Secretary for Immigration Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security with these operational elements:
- Office of Investigations – responsible for investigating a range of issues, including human smuggling; narcotics, weapons and all other contraband smuggling; export enforcement, such as investigating illegal arms exports and exports of dual-use equipment that may threaten national security; financial crimes, such as money laundering, commercial fraud, intellectual property rights (including commercial counterfeiting) violations; cybercrime; immigration crime; and human rights violations.
- Office of Apprehension, Detention, and Removal (ADR) – responsible for promoting public safety and national security by ensuring the departure from the United States of all removable aliens through the fair enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.
- Office of Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) – responsible for promoting confidence in our nations’ civil aviation system through the effective deployment of Federal Air Marshals to detect, deter and defeat hostile acts targeting U.S. air carriers, airports, passengers and crews.
- Office of Federal Protective Service (FPS) – responsible for policing, securing and ensuring a safe environment in which federal agencies can conduct their business by reducing threats posed against the more than 8,800 federal facilities nationwide.
- Office of Intelligence – responsible for the collection, analysis and dissemination of strategic and tactical intelligence data for use by the operational elements of ICE and the DHS.
The agency has 20,000 employees, a $4 billion budget, and is our first line of defense against all manner of threats.
The objection to Myers rises from two standpoints: 1) is she qualified and 2) is she capable?
The Assistant Secretary for ICE is one of the few assistant secretarial positions to have qualifications spelled out for it in the law.
Section 442 of Public Law 107-296 which created the Department of Homeland Security required the assistant secretary responsible for border and transportation security:
[S]hall have a minimum of 5 years professional experience in law enforcement, and a minimum of 5 years of management experience.
Ms. Myers’ official biography lists her experience as:
She manages Commerce Special Agents who work at eight field offices in the United States, and oversees Export Enforcement's international attaché program. Ms. Myers also provides policy guidance on issues relating to export controls, national security and nonproliferation.
Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Ms. Myers served as the Chief of Staff of the Criminal Division for Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff at the Department of Justice. Before that, she served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Money Laundering and Financial Crimes at the Department of Treasury. She also worked as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York and as an Associate Independent Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for Kenneth W. Starr.
Before entering government service, Ms. Myers was as an associate in the litigation section of Mayer, Brown & Platt. Immediately after law school, she served as a law clerk to Judge C. Arlen Beam for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
If the letter of the law has any meaning whatsoever, Ms. Myers simply has neither the five years management nor the five years law enforcement experience required. The attempt to finesse stints as an assistant prosecutor in various agencies into law enforcement experience, to me, just doesn’t pass the laugh test and I am sure that it won’t pass the laugh test among law enforcement professionals.
Besides, we have enough lawyers in Homeland Security as it is, let someone else have a chance.
Setting aside for the moment that her job specific experience does not appear to conform to the law, is there anything in her record that indicates she has the requisite mangement skills to manage and lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement? Here the resounding answer is no.
Her current responsibilities are limited to managing 170 employees and a $25 million budget. Not shabby, but in my world I did that at age 28 when I assumed command of a rifle company and even with my ego I wouldn’t be so bold as to say that would have been adequate preparation to move up to 20,000 people and $4 billion.
Other than her current position her resume is devoid of anything that could vaguely be mistaken as management experience. Not that she hasn’t had some interesting and responsible jobs, she has, but there is nothing in her record to indicate she would be up to the job.
On a more subjective level we need to ask if she is qualified or if her lack of qualifications is offset by the political profile she will bring to the agency. Let’s look to history.
James Lee Witt, the deity of emergency management, was hired by Bill Clinton to head the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services based on 8 years experience as County Judge of Yell County, Arkansas, population 21,139 and falling. When Witt moved to head FEMA in 1993 there were more employees in FEMA than adults in Yell County and several fold more employees than in the Arkansas Office of Emergency Services. What Witt brought with him was minimal experience but maximum clout with the President. In retrospect, he was a crappy choice on paper but proved to be an inspired choice in reality.
Is there any evidence this is the case with Ms. Myers. My vote is no. She is not a Bush confidant and has held third tier positions in the administration. There is no evidence whatsoever that she will be able to pick up the telephone and talk to the President or even that the President’s secretary will recognize her name on the caller ID.
The President deserves to have his team composed of people in whom he has given his trust and confidence. By the same token, he has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure the people filling those positions have a reasonable chance at success. By this nomination the White House has not only failed us but it has failed Julie Myers.
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Julie Myers: Not Qualified 35 Comments (0 topical, 35 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Have we heard anything from anyone about her abilities? Records are certainly an important part of this sort of thing, but they're not the only thing. They're the only thing any of us have access to, which can lead them to appear more significant than they really are.
It's likely that you and Michelle are right, but I'm curious as to what those who have worked with & under her have to say. Maybe she's some kind of managerial genius or something--or even just well above average. Is anything like this accessible?
My bottom line is that IMHO she doesn't meet the gates for consideration set in the law creating the position.
If you want snarky dirt, this may intrigue you
I believe Malkin posts an email sent by someone who worked with or for her at DHS.
It is not kind, if I recall.
It's disheartening to see Redstate join the crowd baying after this nominee. I'm hard pressed to differentiate this from the MSM pack mentality that separates a candidate from the herd and then slashes down at the throat in the bloodlust that is D.C. politics.
(1) I went to law school with Julie Myers, and she is an extremely capable, ethical person who would do credit to any agency or organization. I have not seen her in years, but hers is a face from my past that comes to mind when I -- a classic gay liberal type -- am tempted to stereotype Christian conservatives unfairly. It's a true Washington coming-of-age experience to see a peer - and a damn good person - caught up in the tough politics of our day. I can't speak to her experience since law school, but she's never struck me as the type to court nepotism. I think the suggestion would mortify her - not that she would ever let us see it.
And don't you see? The reason you won't find a more-qualified, experienced hand to lead the agency is that a more qualified, experienced hand would not put up with the character assassination now accepted as part of the Washington experience.
Feh.
I'm doomed to be either a shill for the GOP and other nefarious interests who isn't a conservative need to have my integrity rescued on a daily basis or part of a lynch mob.
None of that is from people who worked with her, just from those who are going to, and who are annoyed by her lack of experience. And they may be right, but I'd still like to hear something from someone that's more than just conjecture.
According to the White House, Myers works in the office of Presidential Personnel.
"The President has nominated Julie L. Myers, of Kansas, to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Ms. Myers currently serves as Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel. She previously served as Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the Department of Commerce. Prior to that, Ms. Myers was the Chief of Staff for the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. She also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. Ms. Myers received her bachelor's degree from Baylor University and her J.D. from Cornell Law School.
It's just I think conservative blogs have fallen prey in this case to the same pack mentality that afflicts the mainstream media. Michelle Malkin does more than question this woman's qualifications, she attacks her for benefiting from cronyism, i.e., a personal attack. And based on what? Personal and familial relations that are the meat and potatoes of any large organization, business, academia and government.
The success in driving Lott from the majority leader's post went to too many people's head among the right-minded right, in my opinion. (Not you, Streiff, not you.) Myers is not Lott, and she does not deserve the opprobrium.
is that the "cronyism" is a very cheap shot. But I also don't think letting her have a job she is, in my view, not even marginally qualified for doesn't do her any favors.
I don't know what the answer is so long as we require appointees to not only be techincal virtuosos but saints and scholars. Bernie Kerik was a much better choice to lead Homeland Security than Chertoff, who, IMHO, should be sharing quarters with Michael Brown right now, but mere mastery in the field wasn't enough.
Trust this, coming from a conservative familiar with the situation: what streiff says in this post is not just on point, it's too kind. Myers is unqualified and her nomination sends the message that the White House simply does not take ICE seriously.
someone is manifestly unqualified, but notice that she just happens to be related to important people in Washington, is it completely out of bounds to speculate that that fact might have had something to do with her nomination?
came up many times with regards to John Bolton and it didn't seem to raise any eyebrows from Malkin or others in Red State land so either a new sensivity has been raised following Katrina or there is some other reason for hammering this appointee.
I seem to remember that Bolton was an experienced diplomat who was currently serving as Undersecretary of State. Am I remembering the wrong guy?
Well, the obvious distinction between John Bolton and Jennifer Meyers is that Bolton, say what you will about him, has 20 to 30 years of experience on Jennifer Meyers, and has, more specifically, extensive experience working on international level issues, policy, and diplomacy.
Meyers is 35 years old (give or take), and has no specific experience whatsoever in the area of Immigration and/or running a large bureaucracy.
Bolton may have been rather rough around the edges, but no one questioned his experience.
The same cannot be said for Meyers.
Think a comparison to Trent Lott and Julie Meyers is completely apples and oranges.
Trent Lott was an elected representative who speaks on behalf of his constituents, and at the time, the Republican Senate.
Meyers is a low level political appointee.
Lott was taken down, rightly or wrongly, for something he said that was deemed to not represent well his party or constituents. No one questioned his experience or abiliity to perform his job.
Meyers, it is suggested, lacks experience for the job she is up for. She's said nothing to offend anyone. She simply appears to lack the necessary qualifications.
Apples. Oranges.
Streiff, that oversight on your part changes everything.
Everything. <wink>
but this nomination would only prove that the administration is again not serious in dealing with the illegal immigration problem.
put a capable person in the job, and they dont have to worry about character assasination.
two words: Bernie Kerik
Even a qualified person is going to be subjected to character assassination so long as there are Dems in the Senate.
The point is why make it easy for them.
The real pity is that this broke the last week of Dick Myers' tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs--he's served admirably, and this is an unfortunate coda to his career and will probably mute the tributes he deserves.
Dick Myers is going to be remembered as one of the more significant Chiefs and it is really a shame that this is happening as he leaves office.
Coincidently, I've been dealing with Homeland Security in a professional matter this week.
It would be very difficult to mess up this agency any more than it already is. Ms. Myers would have to be truly, heroically incompetent to lower the efficiency of the place. Slow, bizarre lines of authority, staffed with politicos -- yes, the criticisms are right -- and altogether a monstrosity.
Meanwhile, a former Administation colleague who spent the last few weeks in Mississippi reports that FEMA advance staff, once free to locate themselves to places like, oh, Austin, Texas, in advance of a Texas-targeting hurricane, must now wait days and days for their orders to come down from DHS.
President Bush made a terrible mistake in allowing the Democrats to bully him into creating DHS. Terrible.
the guy wasnt clean
should his buisiness dealings not be made public?
and if character is never an issue, than its not an issue in any level of politics.
you must be consistent with this argument.
now i have seen her statements, that she will defer to more experienced voices on the issues...but it still begs the question...does this nomination not show that the administration is not serious in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration?
There's a lot of to and froing here, but there may be some unmentionned aspects yet to come. I vaguely recall a press prior mention of her experience as the asst. US Atty. for ED-NY, and the Starr experience. Maybe it will be useful if Starr and Giuliani (and Kerik?!?) let their views be known.
Their silence will probably say more than their endorsement.
Kerik wasn't massively corrupt or that Kerik shouldn't have been appointed because even forgiveable corruption will just fuel the Dems?
...then what's the point of hiring qualified people?
If so, doesn't that question kind of answer itself?
I hope this gets resolved in time for his retirement to get the attention that is his due. I thought he did a great job boosting Wolfowitz yesterday at the press conference.
is there such a thing?
he used his public position to increase his personal wealth...if that is forgiveable, then i believe everything is forgiveable
The point is whether she is among the "most qualified." I doubt it. There must be 500 persons in the Federal Government who have more leadership and management expertise in law enforcement
than her. This is not to mention another 500 local and state law enforcment types who have REAL EXPERIENCE.
This is another stupid move by the Bush Administration that is going to have political repercussions.
in the bio excerpted in the story. She also worked for Chertoff in the Criminal Division at Justice.
is that she doesn't make the "qualified" gate and no one could term her "most" or "well" qualified with a straight face.
Yes - I read the bio, but I recall Rudy or someone speaking very favorably about her.
I'll wander over to google to see. It may have been in the local NY press.
Also - could be a case of mistaken identity on my part - someone else from the NY US Atty. office.
Finally, there are almost always 500 or so other qualified folks for a job. OTOH, this pick certainly raises questions. I'm not arguing for it, so much as wanting to see the confirmation hearings and the other side of the story.
Malkin, RS, and now, National Review:
http://www.nationalreview.com/editorial/editors200509221416.asp
This nomination will quietly disappear. National Review makes some interesting points, but the conclusion is unvaried.
..has been unanimous -- from both sides. Makes me think that Ms. Myers may soon ... withdraw her name from consideration, if you will.