Obama dismisses Bush Pentagon appointees

[ensho]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obama-dismisses-bush-pentagon-appointees-2008-12-30.html


Despite keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the Pentagon, President-elect Obama’s transition team informed 90 Bush appointees their services will not be needed after Inauguration Day.

Scott Gration, a senior official on Obama’s transition team, called and emailed several of President Bush’s Pentagon appointees about 10 days ago to inform them they were being dismissed.

Those calls and emails were followed up by an email from Jim O'Beirne, the special assistant to the secretary of defense for White House liaisons, who expressed exasperation that Gration informed the employees directly instead of letting O'Beirne's office know first.

"With regard to the process, I am unable to provide an explanation," O'Beirne wrote on Tuesday in the email, which was obtained by The Hill. "I played no part in it, and I will not speculate why matters were handled as they were."


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Out of roughly 250 political appointees, 90 were dismissed.

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Until now, that process seemed to be going smoothly as a number of departments have reported efficient and even cordial working relationships between Bush appointees and transition officials. The O'Beirne email is the first sign of discontent.
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I'm glad that at least 90 will be going. but these 90 should be investigated as neo cons.

[napi21]

1. People who are gov't appointees all know when there's a change

of administration Party affiliation they'll almost always lose their job. Sounds like O'Beirne just had his ego smacked a little bit.

[alfredo]

3. He knows that he will now have to live in the bush economy.

[cyclezealot]

2. 90 out of 250

I think Obama is being a little generous.. It's few Bush appointees that are not overtly partisan..Just look to 'Brownie.'

[MiniMe]

4. 90 are being dismissed on inaugeration day...

The other 130 may be held over for a transition period before they are dismissed. It doesn't mean they will stay.

[ThomWV]

5. ... they can Frog-march them right straight into Federal Prison too and it'd suit me to a T