You’d think that after the Mike Brown fiasco at FEMA, the Bush gang would go out of its way to make sure anyone involved with emergency/disaster response work would be experienced and capable, not just some Republican crony who’s been loyal to the Bush machine.
Alas, we’re dealing with an administration that doesn’t learn from its mistakes.
Less than a month after the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped down amid accusations of cronyism and incompetence, the Bush administration is being assailed for nominating another political ally to head a key agency for responding to foreign disasters.
One leading international relief group is publicly opposing the appointment of Ellen Sauerbrey to the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and others have expressed private concerns over her lack of experience in emergency response work.
Sauerbrey, a former member of the Republican National Committee who was Bush’s Maryland state campaign chairwoman in 2000, is the U.S. representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
Sauerbrey wasn’t exactly the ideal choice for the U.N. Commission job either, but it’s largely a diplomatic post where the damage would be limited. Tapping Sauerbrey to lead an agency with a $700-million annual budget, responsible for coordinating the nation’s response to refugee crises during natural disasters and wars, is ridiculous.
To be sure, Sauerbrey’s government experience is slightly better than Brownie’s — she served in the Maryland legislature for 16 years — but what kind of relevant background does she have in setting up refugee camps, delivering emergency supplies, and mobilizing international responses to humanitarian crises? Zero.
She’s just another Republican activist looking for a job in the administration. The fact that the president has nominated her for this job suggests the FEMA debacle has taught the White House nothing.