Newswise — In the wake of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s resignation announcement today, Gettysburg College Political Science Prof. Shirley Anne Warshaw, an expert on the presidency, offered some thoughts on what Napolitano’s departure means for the Obama Administration, especially given that she was the last member of the first term national security team to remain in office.
On rebuilding the National Security team and strengthening their relationships:
With Napolitano gone, Warshaw said, “The level of trust between the players is missing. The departmental players don’t know each other and don’t know the key players in the White House. The cabinet, and particularly the national security cabinet, is a government of strangers, brought together in cabinet meetings and the situation room. The last five years in which personal relationships have been built is now null and void. New relationships will need to be forged. But, as they were in the first term, those relationships will be guided by the national security advisor. Susan Rice will manage national security decisions, seeking advice for the president from the key cabinet officers. Some will become more important than others, as personalities begin to dominate the process.”
She added,” As President Obama weighs the right person to now head the Department of Homeland Security, not only do questions of political and managerial experience come into play, but questions arise of effective interaction with other players in the national security team, especially those in the White House.”
On the individuals Obama chose for his cabinet:
“Obama’s cabinet-selection process in both his first and second terms focused on individuals who had political experience, such as governors and members of Congress. With few exceptions, he chose not to appoint friends. Only two recent appointees, Penny Pritzker, the newly confirmed secretary of commerce, and John Brennan, the newly confirmed director of Central Intelligence, rank within his inner circle,” Warshaw noted.
In contrast, she said, “George W. Bush appointed two members of his White House staff to the cabinet at the start of his second term, Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General and Margaret Spellings as Secretary of Education. By placing key White House staff into the cabinet, Bush built a stronger control axis between the White House and the departments to minimize departmental co-option within the policy-making structure. For Bush, having the White House control policy-making was central to his governance structure.”
“The Obama administration has continued the Bush governance structure, which limits departmental autonomy and gives White House staff primary responsibility for developing policy initiatives. During the first term, the White House carefully scripted policy decisions. Hillary Clinton was granted a degree of autonomy in policy-making, as were Bob Gates, Leon Panetta, and Janet Napolitano. Four years of working together and understanding White House priorities allowed a degree of trust between the policy leaders in the White House and the policy implementers in the departments,” Warshaw said.
Shirley Anne Warshaw is a professor of political science and the Harold G. Evans Chair of Eisenhower Leadership Studies at Gettysburg College, and a presidential scholar.
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