Heckuva job: George Bush’s appointment of 36-year-old Julie Myers to the post of head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is another example of his penchant for appointing unqualified cronies. And, the fact that it was a recess appointment, and thereby skirts the Senate confirmation process, indicates that his advisors recognized that Myers likely wouldn’t have made the cut.
According to GovExec.com, Myers has some good connections — her daddy is former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers and her husband is chief of staff for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
So what qualifies her to head the second-largest federal law enforcement agency with 15,000 employees and an annual budget of $4 billion? She previously worked in the departments of Treasury, Commerce and Justice, and — here’s the ghost of Harriet Meiers — most recently served as a special assistant to Bush.
To try and combat appointments of incompetent political cronies (remeber Michael Brown aka Brownie?), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) has introduced legislation that sets standards of experience for high-level appointees to positions requiring Senate confirmation.
That’s all well and good, but when the incompetence starts at the top with the president, it’s going to be nigh on impossible to keep it out of the lower ranks.
