Czars Appointed by Obama
Names of ‘czars’ who work for the executive branch.
1. Compensation Czar aka Pay Czar: Kenneth Feinberg, appointed in June to oversee compensation for executives whose companies received TARP money.
2. Health-Care Czar: Nancy Ann DeParle, Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Appointed in March 2009.
3. Urban Czar: Adolfo Carrion, Jr., director of the new White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy. Appointed in February.
4. Great Lakes Czar: Cameron Davis, Chicago-based environmentalist. Appointed in June.
5. Iran Czar: Dennis Ross (aka Persian Gulf / Southwest Asia Czar / Central Region Czar), special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia. *Reports to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
6. Middle East Czar: George Mitchell, special envoy to the Middle East.
7. Energy Czar / Climate / Global Warming Czar: Carol M.Browner, Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy.
8. Pakistan Czar / Afghanistan Czar: Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
9. Bank-Bailout Czar aka TARP Czar: Herb Allison, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability of the United States. *Confirmed by the Senate on June 19, 2009.
10. Border Czar: Alan Bersin, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Special Representative for Border Affairs.
11. Drug Czar: Gil Kerlikowske, former Seattle police chief, now Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Since May 2009.
12. Cyber-Security Czar: Melissa Hathaway – resignation effective August 21
– they’re having a hard time finding a new cyber czar, whose title is National Cyber Adviser
Phil Reitinger is Director of the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC) at the United States Department of Homeland Security.
13. WMD Non-Proliferation Czar: Gary Samore, Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, Proliferation, and Terrorism (since January 2009)
14. Faith-Based Czar: Joshua DuBois, Director of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (since February 2009)
15. Domestic Violence Czar: Lynn Rosenthal. Appointed by Vice President Biden to the new position of White House Adviser On Violence Against Women in June 2009.
16. Car Czar: Dr. Ed Montgomery, Director of Recovery for Auto Workers and Communities
*The other “car czar” Steve Rattner was reportedly forced to step down in July 2009 after he became embroiled in a corruption scandal involving a kickback scheme at New York state’s pension fund.
17. War Czar: Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute (carryover from President Bush), Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan
18. Stimulus-Accountability Czar aka Stimulus Watchdog Czar: Earl Devaney, Inspector General for the United States Department of the Interior (since 1999)
19. AIDS Czar: Jeffrey Crowley, Head of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP)
20. Energy Czar / Climate Czar / Global-Warming Czar: Carol Browner, Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy
21. Green-Jobs Czar: Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Announced his resignation over Labor Day weekend. He had been under fire for calling Republicans “assholes” in a video taped before he was called to head up Obama’s green jobs program.
The current CEQ chairman is Nancy Sutley who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2008 and confirmed by the Senate in January 2009.
22. Guantanamo Base Closure Czar: Daniel Fried, Special Envoy to Guantanamo Bay (since April 2009)
23. Terrorism Czar: John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (since May 2009). * Gen. James Jones his immediate boss.
24. Infotech Czar: Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer of the United States (since February 2009). Immediate boss: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Peter Orszag
25. FCC Diversity Czar: Mark Lloyd, Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer at the Federal Communications Commission. Appointed on August 4, 2009.
26. Manufacturing Czar: Ron Bloom, Chief Adviser to the Treasury Department on the Auto Industry (since July 2009); Senior Adviser for Manufacturing Policy (since September 2009).
* The media usually defines ‘czars’ as presidential appointees who are not required to undergo Senate confirmations hearings.
John Holdren, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, was confirmed unanimously by the Senate and does not meet the media’s current definition of “czar.”
Regulatory “czar” Cass Sunstein is the administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). He was confirmed by the Senate on September 10, 2009 in a 57-40 vote.
Last Modified: 2009/06/11
In April 2020, Americans eagerly a so-called stimulus check dispersed by the government in the wake of the coronavirus-instigated societal lockdown. After receiving that Economic Impact Payment (EIP), each individual will receive via mail from the Treasury an envelope containing what’s called the “IRS Notice 1444” with the signature of President Donald Trump. The letter contains the amount sent by the IRS.