Ed Morrissey at HotAir has thoughtfully framed the issue of unfilled cabinet positions at Treasury.

President Barack Obama’s handy excuse for all sorts of goofs and missteps is that he’s too busy working on fixing the economy. In order to do that, one might expect that Obama would concentrate on building his economic team at the Department of the Treasury, where most of those efforts would originate and get managed. Instead, as noted earlier today, phones go unanswered at Treasury — and our allies and trading partners have begun complaining about the lack of effort in the White House.

The puzzling issue as Morrissey points out is that the Obama administration hasn’t nominated anyone for 18 positions that must be confirmed by the Senate.

One theory is that its because Obama has become extremely cautious (understandably) about nominees with any more tax problems. But there is another possible explanation that’s consistent with a pattern the administration has already followed. Like the Emanual attempt at hijacking the census from Commerce, is the new administration attempting to circumvent oversight by doing the same with Treasury?

Is WH Budget Director Peter Orszag the real power behind fiscal policy right now and not Tim Geithner ? Its little wonder Geitner has no plan. Its not his anyway. The Obama administration has been demonstrating via its own policies that its not interested in repairing our economy, but it remaking it to its own socialistic redistributionist philosophy.

Most certainly Orszag is the likely architect of the Obama environmental policy. His point of view is in the alarmist camp. Tom Nelson has more from October in 2008. And as Orszag’s other “specialties” are health care and retirement funds, it makes more sense for the Obama agenda to put Orszag at the point of attack over Gietner right now. Banking regulations and tax issues just can’t get in the way now.

So is cap and trade and health care reform the actual priority and not the sliding economic health of which Geitner would be more responsible? All Obama has to say, is that Geitner just doesnt have all the people in place yet to do regulatory reform. If so the drag on confirmations at Treasury are serving as a stall tactic to inact the leftist reforms Obama wants first.

Posted under Uncategorized