New e-gov administrator could be named Thursday

Industry sources say Vivek Kundra could be named as early as Thursday as the next Office of Management and Budget's administrator for e-government and information technology.

Kundra, the chief technology officer of Washington, would replace Karen Evans.

One source, who requested anonymity because they were not approved to speak to the press on this matter, says the decision of Nancy Killefer Feb. 3 to withdraw her nomination to the deputy director of management (DDM) and chief performance officer (CPO) in the Office of Management and Budget likely should have little affect on Kundra's nomination.

Killefer decided to step back from her nomination after tax problems surfaced. She owes the District of Columbia about $950.

Some had speculated that Kundra would be the Obama administration's CTO. But the source says he is not in the running.

The source says one name that is in the CTO mix is John Seely Brown, the former Xerox chief scientist. Brown now is an independent co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for Edge Innovation and a visiting scholar and advisor to the Provost at University of Southern California, according to his Web site.

While Killefer decision to withdraw may not affect Kundra's nomination, it may have a ripple effect across other parts of OMB.

Her decision elicited a common response by both government and industry observers: disappointment.

"We were hopeful because she appeared to have strong credentials, a vision and all the things we were wishing for to be better plugged into management and priorities," says one federal official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. "Now we have uncertainty. It is not a happy day. We thought we had someone who understood the mission and had a vision. Now we do not."

Jon Desenberg, policy director for the Performance Institute, says finding someone with Killefer's qualifications will be difficult.

"She focused her attention on efficiency and productivity indicators," he says. "She said government can adopt private sector best practices in these areas and make them work."

A spokeswoman for Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, says the senator is disappointed. Lieberman's committee oversees the nomination of OMB officials.

"He hopes the Obama administration quickly appoints a new nominee so the critical business of making government more efficient and responsive to the American people can be carried out with energy and vigor," the spokeswoman says.

The industry source says Killefer's decision to withdraw shouldn't have been a surprise.

"She was never on list for confirmation even three weeks after her nomination," the source says. "Someone knew there was a problem."

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says both Killefer and former Senator Tom Daschle, who also decided to remove himself from consideration to be the Department of Health and Human Services secretary because of tax problems, did not want to distract the administration's agenda.

"Each also decided they couldn't distract from the agenda that the President was pursuing," he says. "The agenda that he was pursuing is bigger than them, it's bigger than me, it's bigger than any of us that serve at the pleasure of the President of the United States. That's the work that continues here at the White House; work that started many days ago and will continue both today and tomorrow."

Gibbs says the White House is working on nominees to replace Killefer and Daschle.

Deisenberg says the next CPO and deputy director for management should have many of the same qualifications as Killefer.

"They need to look at people who have studied this and other country's performance," he says. "Someone who can bring a larger perspective to this issue than just the federal government. Someone who understands OMB and can hit the ground and running."

Killefer had meetings with OMB officials and good government groups to begin to lay the ground work. Sources say this includes discussing not only the administrator for e-government and IT, but also the administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

The government official hopes the next person retains influence in the Obama administration. One of the things that made former DDM Clay Johnson successful was his personal relationship with former President George Bush, sources say.

The next person nominated to be the deputy director for management and chief performance officer will have plenty to do with the economic stimulus bill, the fiscal 2009 and 2010 budgets and a host of other management priorities coming.

"The question is how will we proceed?" the government source asks. "There was the expectation of a new management agenda around this administration's priorities. There were signs that there would be new ways of measuring and they would get rid of the red, yellow and green stoplight approach."

-----

On the Web:

FederalNewsRadio - Obama performance chief Killefer out, citing taxes

FederalNewsRadio - House turns up heat on agency programs

White House - Letter from Nancy Killefer to President Obama

(Copyright 2009 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)