This is one of Obamas puppets The nominee to head up DHS Do you really want him holding that position Meet Jeh C. Johnson, President Barack Obama’s pick to succeed Janet Napolitano as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Here are 10 things to know about him. 1. Jeh is pronounced as “Jay.” He is named after a Liberian chief whom his father, a Tuskegee Airman, met in 1930. Continue Reading Text Size -+reset Latest on POLITICO Playbook: Liberal PACs double up Sharpton: Palin throwing red meat Top Senate IP staffer to law firm Obama to tap Massad to lead CFTC Natural gas lights up Pa. race Fix for individual market difficult 2. Johnson graduated from Columbia Law School in 1982 and worked in private practice at the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He has moved in and out of private practice since his first public appointment. 3. Johnson wooed his wife Susan DiMarco, who is a dentist, through three years of dental visits. They live in Georgetown with their two kids. 4. His first major appointment was under President Bill Clinton in 1998, when he was confirmed as General Counsel of the Air Force. He also served as special counsel for Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. 5. Johnson was a top fundraiser for Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and was part of a prominent Democratic fundraising circle in New York. 6. In 2008 he served as a part of President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team before being appointed as the top lawyer for the Department of Defense. 7. As the Department of Defense’s top lawyer, Johnson oversaw 10,000 employed by the department, and an immediate staff of 100 in the DoD Office of the General Counsel. 8. Johnson and the White House have butted heads before. In June 2011, Johnson advised that continuing involvement in the NATO Libyan air-strike beyond 60 days could be in violation of the War Powers Act. Obama disagreed and continued with the strikes. 9. Johnson was at the forefront of the push to end the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He ran a taskforce and co-authored a report that demonstrated the effect of allowing gay men and women to openly serve would cause little disruption, clearing the way for the end of the law. 10. Johnson was instrumental in shaping the Obama administration’s “drone” policy, taking part in the review establishing the legality of their use.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 13:19:55 +0000
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