Little Continuity Without Leadership in Reserve

M ichael P. Jackson, No. 2 in the Department of Homeland Security, has served as deputy secretary for slightly more than two years. Now, he's leaving the Bush administration, which is approaching its final year in office.

Jackson's resignation, effective next month, points up the need for continuity in the government, especially Homeland Security, during presidential transitions.

It also has renewed concerns among Democrats on Capitol Hill that the department continues to suffer from too much turnover in senior positions.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), who chairs the federal workforce subcommittee, said Jackson's resignation "creates a hole in the leadership at DHS at a time when serious management issues, including the transition to a new administration after next fall's elections, plague the department."

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said "the department's leadership has more holes than Swiss cheese."

The department disputes any suggestion that transition planning will be affected by the loss of Jackson, who is in charge of day-to-day operations. Russ Knocke, the department's press secretary, said Jackson has put succession plans in place for Homeland Security agencies and program offices and has overseen the placement of career leaders in key positions.

Fourteen agencies and program offices have career federal executives as the No. 2 official, and the No. 3 and No. 4 jobs at many other agencies are filled by career employees, Knocke said.

Jackson has made transition planning "a core priority among all of the senior leadership team in the department," Knocke said. "They know what more needs to be done in between now and a transition in January 2009."

Still, reviews are mixed on the department's progress in pulling together the 22 agencies that make it up. The Government Accountability Office, in a recent assessment, found improvements in key mission-related operations but said the department was falling short of its goals in personnel, finance and procurement.

David M. Walker, the head of GAO, testified on the department's challenges at a Sept. 6 hearing in the Senate and suggested other large departments need to focus on better management.

"I don't think that government places enough attention on management in general," Walker said. "And in particular I think government has an incredibly complex job to do with regard to major mergers and transformation efforts that is of higher complexity than the private sector."

In the government, Walker said, "you have more bosses, you have less flexibility and you have much more transparency -- all the more reason why you must not just have people who are competent and credible; you must have continuity."