One week after accepting President Obama’s nomination, New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg has withdrawn as the nominee for Secretary of Commerce:
AP (AP) — — Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire has withdrawn his nomination to become President Barack Obama’s commerce secretary.
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Gregg was named the Commerce nominee a week ago after the withdrawal of former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.
The statement released by Gregg’s office makes it clear that the Administration’s policies became too much for Gregg to stomach:
“I want to thank the President for nominating me to serve in his Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. This was a great honor, and I had felt that I could bring some views and ideas that would assist him in governing during this difficult time. I especially admire his willingness to reach across the aisle.
“However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
“Obviously the President requires a team that is fully supportive of all his initiatives.
“I greatly admire President Obama and know our country will benefit from his leadership, but at this time I must withdraw my name from consideration for this position.
“As we move forward, I expect there will be many issues and initiatives where I can and will work to assure the success of the President’s proposals. This will certainly be a goal of mine.
“Kathy and I also want to specifically thank Governor Lynch and Bonnie Newman for their friendship and assistance during this period. In addition we wish to thank all the people, especially in New Hampshire, who have been so kind and generous in their supportive comments.
“As a further matter of clarification, nothing about the vetting process played any role in this decision. I will continue to represent the people of New Hampshire in the United States Senate.”
Gregg deserves credit for standing on principle here.
Well, since Gregg knew how big the stimulus was going to be before he ASKED for the position and since the census has not been taken away from Commerce, he should probably elaborate on what differences he has.
Also, I don’t know if you’ve read it yet, but he also said this…
So I agree that it was principle, but he should have realized that in the first place. Virtually nothing has changed since he accepted the position. In fact, the stimulus bill has gotten smaller. That doesn’t mean he has to agree with it, but this is still Gregg’s fault.
Yes, one thing has changed.
The Democrats rammed the stimulus through and have not allowed any Republican participation in the conference report.