Sequestration doesn’t fly

But for fun — and the parlor game always is, isn’t it? — here’s some of the names most often heard as potential successors: Larry Strickling, a longtime Obama supporter who now heads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; former FCC adviser Blair Levine ; Karen Kornbluh , ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; and current FCC commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel .

But they probably shouldn’t wait by the phone.

Archive

• E-mail
• RSS

More from In the Loop:

In the Loop: Losing planes, framing Cabinet members

Al Kamen

It’s all a matter of perspective inside the Beltway.

Obama is out of the loop on IRS policy?

Al Kamen

That IRS thing? The White House employed its “Don’t tell Dad” policy.

• In the Loop

Will no trash cans mean no trash?

Al Kamen

In the Loop: The Park Service takes a novel approach to keeping America beautiful.

Greens seeing red

He’s not even an official nominee yet, but Ernest Moniz , who is said to be the White House’s top candidate for energy secretary, is already prompting grousing among the enviro set.

Moniz, a scientist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the most-mentioned pick to replace Steven Chu, who plans to return to Stanford. As was the case with Chu, Moniz’s academic background — and his lack of political baggage — is thought to be a plus.

But before Moniz has gotten the president’s nod, environmental groups are already crying foul, expressing concern about his support for natural gas and nuclear power as energy sources.

Moniz has endorsed the use of natural gas, and a study he wrote asserted that the risks of the controversial practice of fracking were manageable, which is anathema to greenie groups.

Environmentalists also are questioning Moniz’s stint as a director of the MIT Energy Initiative, an industry-funded organization.

“We urge him to leave dangerous nuclear energy and toxic fracking behind while focusing on safe, clean energy sources like wind and solar,” Sierra Club legislative director Melinda Pierce told Greenwire. In the same article, Public Citizen called the pick “disappointing.”

More piling on: An official with the Center for Biological Diversity told the Hill newspaper that Moniz “could very well be a political hack for the natural gas industry.”

Guess it’s never too soon to sharpen those knives.

NOAA’s arc

Speaking of Stanford, Chu isn’t the only Obama administration refugee heading there. Also heading westward is Jane Lubchenco, outgoing administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She’ll be a visiting scholar this spring, the university announced, and will be giving weekly seminars and working with students and faculty members on “sustainability science and environmental policy.”

With Emily Heil

kamena@washpost.com

The blog: washingtonpost.com/
intheloop. Twitter: @InTheLoopWP.