Rumor was that FDA Commission Mark McClellan would get the post, but the White House announced this morning that EPA chief Michael Leavitt is Bush’s pick to replace Tommy Thompson as the secretary of Health and Human Services.
Bush praised Leavitt as a “fine executive” and “a man of great compassion.” “He’s an ideal choice to lead one of the largest departments of the United States government.”
Well, that depends on what you mean by “great compassion.”
Leavitt’s term at the EPA has been noteworthy on occasion, but rarely for anything good. For example, Leavitt raised a few eyebrows in June after the EPA announced that 99 million Americans are breathing unhealthful air that can cause respiratory problems and even premature death — and Leavitt congratulated himself for acknowledging the nation has a problem with air pollution, calling the announcement “a very good news story.”
And it was hardly a sign of “compassion” when Leavitt limited his public speeches to industry polluters.
[In January,] manufacturing lobbyists gathered at a conference to discuss how to spin coverage of environmental issues during the lead up to next November’s elections. The keynote speaker? EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. The National Association of Manufacturers event, entitled “Environmental Issues 2004: How to Get Results in an Election Year,” cost $150 to attend. It was just the second time that Leavitt has spoken publicly outside of EPA headquarters since last November. The first was the January meeting of the Edison Electric Institute, an organization that represents the electric utility industry, held…at the Scottsdale Princess resort in Arizona.
And “health and human services” hardly comes to mind when one considers that 10 attorneys general and 45 senators, including seven Republicans, wrote to the EPA in April to complain that Leavitt’s proposals for mercury standards “fall far short of what the law requires, and they fail to protect the health of our children and the environment.”
At a minimum, it should make for a series of interesting confirmation hearings.