I’ve long believed the most head-shaking political appointees in the Bush administration aren’t the ones everyone’s heard of (Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Gonzales), but rather the ones who remain largely anonymous.
For example, TNR’s Michael Crowley noted that nominated Nicole Nason to head the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, which has some pretty key responsibilities, not the least of which includes preventing car crashes. Nason was tapped for the job after a number of political jobs on the Hill, including working as a spokesperson for the House GOP’s Clinton impeachment operation.
But what about highway safety? Nason has a unique background.
Nason, as assistant secretary of transportation, acted primarily as a lobbyist for the Bush administration in opposing safety proposals that the agency now has the responsibility to enforce, said Joan Claybrook of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
As Crowley put it, “My advice: Fasten your seatbelt!”