Czar (political term)
Encyclopedia
Czar or tsar is an informal title for certain high-level officials in the United States and United Kingdom. Political czars can run or organize governmental departments, and may devote their expertise to a single area of work. The "czars" have various official titles such as adviser, director, administrator, or diplomatic envoy, but such titles are often quite long or awkward sounding.
In the United States
, czars are generally executive branch officials appointed by the President
either with Senate approval or without it. Some appointees outside the executive branch are called czars as well. Specific instances of the term are often a media creation.
In the United Kingdom
, the term tsar is more loosely used to refer to high-profile appointments who devote their skills to one particular area.
which was used to designate the Russia
n, Bulgaria
n or Serbia
n monarchs of pre-World War I
Europe.
During the latter stages of World War I
, President Woodrow Wilson
appointed financier Bernard Baruch
to run the War Industries Board
. This position was sometimes dubbed the "industry czar".
One of the earliest known metaphorical usages of the term in the U.S. were to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
, who was named commissioner of baseball, with broad powers to clean up the sport after it had been dirtied by the Black Sox scandal
of 1919.
In 1926, a New York City chamber of commerce named what the New York Times termed a "czar" to clean up the milk delivery industry.
In the United States, the term czar has been used by the media to refer to appointed executive branch officials since at least 1930s and then the 1940s under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
. In 1942, The Washington Post
reported on the "executive orders creating new czars to control various aspects of our wartime economy." Positions were created for a transportation czar, a manpower czar, a production czar, a shipping czar, and a synthetic rubber czar, all to solve difficult problems in coordinating the resources necessary to fight World War II
. Not only did the administration of President Roosevelt advocate their creation; in December 1944, Republicans in Congress advocated that a "food czar" position be created that would have almost unlimited control over food pricing and distribution. Certain of Roosevelt's Cabinet secretaries were called "czars", despite having been duly confirmed by the Senate, at the point that their powers were increased by statute.
Since then, a number of ad hoc temporary as well as permanent United States Executive Branch positions have been established that have been referred to in this manner. The trend began again in earnest when President Richard Nixon
created two offices whose heads became known as "czars" in the popular press: drug czar in 1971, and especially energy czar
in December 1973 referring to William E. Simon
's appointment as the head of the Federal Energy Administration
. Nixon told his cabinet that Simon would have "absolute authority" in his designated areas, and compared the intended result to Albert Speer
's role as the person in unquestioned charge of armaments for the Third Reich. Simon found both the informal title "czar" and the Speer comparison unsettling. However, at the height of the Arab oil embargo, Simon gave the position a good name by successfully putting into place a mandatory fuel allocation program and calming public fears about shortages without resorting to explicit gasoline rationing.
Other examples of this usage include "drug czar
" for the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
– probably the best-known of all the "czars", "terrorism czar" for a Presidential advisor on terrorism
policy, "cybersecurity czar" for the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on computer security
and information security
policy, and "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
.
In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued an opinion regarding the use of the term "drug czar" in prepackaged news stories that had been released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy during fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004. The GAO found that "the law does not bestow that title on the ONDCP Director". And that "ONDCP's use of the term "Drug Czar" to describe the Director of ONDCP does not constitute unlawful self-aggrandizement".
The term "czar" has also been applied to officials who are not members of the Executive Branch, such as Elizabeth Warren
, named to a Congressional commission to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2009 and described as an "oversight czar", and Senate-confirmed positions, such as the Director of National Intelligence, described as the "intelligence czar" in 2004.
One explanation for use of the term is that while the American public rebels at terms like "king" and "dictator", associating them with King George III or fascist figures of World War II
, the term "czar" is foreign, distant, and exotic enough to be acceptable. And the fact that czar positions are often created in times of perceived public crisis makes the public eager to see a strong figure making hard decisions that the existing political structure is unable to do. Another is that Americans of the era generally adopted exotic Asian words to denote those with great, and perhaps unchecked, power, with "mogul
" and "tycoon" being instances in business contexts.
or the United States Trade Representative.
Two legal scholars have also questioned whether Congress has contributed to the proliferation of czars. From 1939 to 1984, Congress had authorized the president to consolidate functions and agencies within the Executive branch, pursuant to the Reorganization Act, which minimized the president's administrative burden "of trying to coordinate disparate functions operating under equally disparate authorities." But Congress allowed this authority to expire at the end of President Reagan's first term, leading these scholars to conclude:
, "czar of production" Donald Nelson, and "czar of ships" Emory S. Land
sharing a throne. In 2009, the non-profit government watchdog organization Taxpayers for Common Sense
reported "by our count there are at least 31 active Czars, giving the current administration more Czars than Imperial Russia had in its history."
Critics who charge that czars are unconstitutional ground their complaints in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution
, which states that the President may nominate "other public Ministers … by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." In this stance, a czar appointee is only legal if confirmed by the Senate; otherwise, they can not exist until they receive such consent. Based on their interpretation of the constitutional language, these critics argue that czars should be subject to Senate
confirmation. The issue is mostly touted by conservatives and Republicans, and during 2009 grew into a staple of anti-Obama
activism. Democratic Senator and Constitutional scholar Robert Byrd
has expressed concern as well, with Byrd writing to Obama that: "The rapid and easy accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials." Democratic Senators Russ Feingold
and Diane Feinstein both questioned whether there was adequate Senate oversight of czar-driven activities. The Republican members of Congress allege that "climate czar" Carol Browner's access to the president had usurped power from other agencies.
By September 2009, Representative Jack Kingston
found 100 cosponsors for a proposed Czar Accountability and Reform Act of 2009, which sought to prohibit taxpayer-paid salaries to “any task force, council, or similar office which is established by or at the direction of the President and headed by an individual who has been inappropriately appointed to such position (on other than an interim basis), without the advice and consent of the Senate.” The Obama administration largely downplayed the concerns, saying that he was doing just what many previous presidents had done. A White House spokesperson said, "The term 'czar' is largely a media creation to make jobs that have existed under multiple administrations sound more exciting. Every president since Nixon has hired smart and qualified people to coordinate between agencies and the White House." At October 2009 hearings before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, constitutional experts asserted that there was nothing wrong with presidents appointing independent advisors, as long as their authority was exerted in practical, not legal, terms. These experts said that the precedent for "czar"-like positions had been established with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
Meanwhile, following the September 2009 resignation of "green jobs czar" Van Jones
, for statements made prior to assuming his position, radio and television commentator Glenn Beck
targeted several additional "czars" for increased scrutiny by his audience.
The Jones case illustrated that czars for non-confirmation positions may not get as much vetting before being named as one whom an administration knows will have to face the Senate. However, the position itself may have not been that important; Brookings Institution
fellow Stephen Hess described Jones as a third-tier adviser reporting to a powerless committee.
The historical term itself has come under criticism; in 2009, U.S. Representative Paul Broun
said, "We do not need and should not have czars. The last time I checked, only pre-Communist Russia had czars, and we are certainly not Russia." Prior to resigning, Van Jones himself rejected use of the term, preferring instead "green-jobs handyman". Indeed, the Obama administration as a whole tended to prefer not to use the "czar" term. One Office of Management and Budget veteran said, "I'm not fond of the term czar. It's a name with pejorative connotations hung on these people who are coordinators, facilitators, catalysts ... [the Obama czars controversy is] much ado about very little. Appointing individuals to serve as the focal point on some issues of presidential interest is a tested and [sometimes] very effective way of dealing with such challenges." Resistance to the term has itself a long history; the Interstate Commerce Commissioner during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, Joseph B. Eastman, declared he was not a "Federal railroad czar" upon being appointed transportation coordinator.
The need for czars itself brings a critique: Steve Forbes
has said, "It underscores the inefficiency of government that you keep ... having people, hoping that maybe they will get something done that the massive government bureaucracy cannot." With many czars, the challenge of managing them grows, such as was lampooned by the Washington Post' s 1942 remark after enumerating recent appointments that, "So far as we can determine, the galaxy of czars is now complete, unless the President should decide to appoint a czar over the czars."
The position continued to be a subject of criticism, and in April 2011, as part of the 2011 federal spending agreement
that averted a government shutdown, four czar positions were indeed eliminated.
The great strength of czars, their loyalty to the president and lack of other bureaucratic constituencies, can also be a cause of their weakness. While they have direct access to the president, they lack operational authority over governmental agencies and often have little or no budget line. As head of the Office of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration
, Tom Ridge
found that these reasons significantly limited his ability to influence policy. As "drug czar
", William Bennett
also noticed that the lack of direct authority, inability to dispense grants, and relative small staff was a "potentially debilitating institutional weakness" that he needed to overcome.
It is important for czars to have staff they have confidence in. When originally naming an "energy czar", President Nixon suggested that William E. Simon
get staff assigned to him from all of the agencies involved in energy policy. Simon rejected this approach, knowing that those agencies would unload their civil service deadwood onto him; instead, Simon insisted that he also retain his existing position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
and the staff there that he had trust in.
The symbolism associated with a czar position be created in a perceived emergency can sometimes be effective in and of itself. During the Y2K run-up, John Koskinen
of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion could force agencies behind in preparation to defend themselves before the White House and cabinet agencies. Bennett found in the drug czar position that President George H. W. Bush
made extraordinary efforts to demonstrate that Bennett had his support, so much so that Bennett fared better bureaucratically than if he had held a regular Cabinet position. Bennett also found that the czar slot lent itself towards taking a "bully pulpit
" approach.
In general, the kind of strong authority that the czar position conveys is usually difficult to actually assemble in American political life; instead, the number of bureaucratic organizations engaged in factional disputes and battling for limited resources is just increased by adding the czar position. If a czar actually is strong and effective, then opposition to him or her rises from the governmental bodies which are losing power, and civil libertarians will often publicly object as well.
, the term is more loosely used to refer to high-profile appointments who devote their skills to one particular area. The term was widely used in the British media
to refer to the appointment of Alan Sugar
to the newly created post of Enterprise Champion
, which was dubbed "Enterprise Tsar" by many news agencies.
The nature of the appointment, and the usage of the term "tsar" did receive criticism however, with collumnist Tracy Corrigan in The Daily Telegraph
suggesting it set as a precedent for the English model Jordan
to be made the "women’s issues tsarina",
with Conservative life peer Lord Hunt suggesting he could already be a "fallen tsar".
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, czars are generally executive branch officials appointed by the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
either with Senate approval or without it. Some appointees outside the executive branch are called czars as well. Specific instances of the term are often a media creation.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the term tsar is more loosely used to refer to high-profile appointments who devote their skills to one particular area.
Development of term
The czar term derives from the title TsarTsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
which was used to designate the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n or Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n monarchs of pre-World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Europe.
During the latter stages of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
appointed financier Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...
to run the War Industries Board
War Industries Board
The War Industries Board was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies. The organization encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency and urged them to eliminate waste by...
. This position was sometimes dubbed the "industry czar".
One of the earliest known metaphorical usages of the term in the U.S. were to Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
, who was named commissioner of baseball, with broad powers to clean up the sport after it had been dirtied by the Black Sox scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
of 1919.
In 1926, a New York City chamber of commerce named what the New York Times termed a "czar" to clean up the milk delivery industry.
In the United States, the term czar has been used by the media to refer to appointed executive branch officials since at least 1930s and then the 1940s under President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. In 1942, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported on the "executive orders creating new czars to control various aspects of our wartime economy." Positions were created for a transportation czar, a manpower czar, a production czar, a shipping czar, and a synthetic rubber czar, all to solve difficult problems in coordinating the resources necessary to fight World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Not only did the administration of President Roosevelt advocate their creation; in December 1944, Republicans in Congress advocated that a "food czar" position be created that would have almost unlimited control over food pricing and distribution. Certain of Roosevelt's Cabinet secretaries were called "czars", despite having been duly confirmed by the Senate, at the point that their powers were increased by statute.
Since then, a number of ad hoc temporary as well as permanent United States Executive Branch positions have been established that have been referred to in this manner. The trend began again in earnest when President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
created two offices whose heads became known as "czars" in the popular press: drug czar in 1971, and especially energy czar
Energy Czar
Energy Czar is a nickname, using the political term "czar", for the person in the Government of the United States given authority over energy policy within the executive branch...
in December 1973 referring to William E. Simon
William E. Simon
William Edward Simon was a businessman, a Secretary of Treasury of the U.S. for three years, and a philanthropist. He became the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury on May 8, 1974, during the Nixon administration. He was reappointed by President Ford and served until 1977. Outside of government, he was...
's appointment as the head of the Federal Energy Administration
Federal Energy Administration
The Federal Energy Administration was a United States government organization created in 1974 to address the 1970s energy crisis. It was merged in 1977 with the newly-created United States Department of Energy.-History:...
. Nixon told his cabinet that Simon would have "absolute authority" in his designated areas, and compared the intended result to Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
's role as the person in unquestioned charge of armaments for the Third Reich. Simon found both the informal title "czar" and the Speer comparison unsettling. However, at the height of the Arab oil embargo, Simon gave the position a good name by successfully putting into place a mandatory fuel allocation program and calming public fears about shortages without resorting to explicit gasoline rationing.
Other examples of this usage include "drug czar
Drug Czar
Drug Czar is an informal name for the person who directs drug-control policies in the United States, following the U.S. use of the 'czar' term. The 'drug czar' title was first published in a 1982 news story by United Press International which reported that “Senators... voted 62–34 to establish a...
" for the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
Office of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988...
– probably the best-known of all the "czars", "terrorism czar" for a Presidential advisor on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
policy, "cybersecurity czar" for the highest-ranking Department of Homeland Security official on computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
and information security
Information security
Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, perusal, inspection, recording or destruction....
policy, and "war czar" to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
.
In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued an opinion regarding the use of the term "drug czar" in prepackaged news stories that had been released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy during fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004. The GAO found that "the law does not bestow that title on the ONDCP Director". And that "ONDCP's use of the term "Drug Czar" to describe the Director of ONDCP does not constitute unlawful self-aggrandizement".
The term "czar" has also been applied to officials who are not members of the Executive Branch, such as Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...
, named to a Congressional commission to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2009 and described as an "oversight czar", and Senate-confirmed positions, such as the Director of National Intelligence, described as the "intelligence czar" in 2004.
Rationale
Advantages cited for the creation of czar type posts are the ability to go outside of formal channels and find creative solutions for ad hoc problems, the ability to involve a lot of government players in big issue decision-making, and the ability to get a huge bureaucracy moving in the right direction. Problems can occur with getting all the parties to work together and with managing competing power centers.One explanation for use of the term is that while the American public rebels at terms like "king" and "dictator", associating them with King George III or fascist figures of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the term "czar" is foreign, distant, and exotic enough to be acceptable. And the fact that czar positions are often created in times of perceived public crisis makes the public eager to see a strong figure making hard decisions that the existing political structure is unable to do. Another is that Americans of the era generally adopted exotic Asian words to denote those with great, and perhaps unchecked, power, with "mogul
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
" and "tycoon" being instances in business contexts.
Causes
The increase in czar positions over time may be because as the size and role of the federal government has grown, so too has the difficulty of coordinating policy across multiple organizational jurisdictions. Indeed, czar positions sometimes become important enough that they become permanent executive offices, such as the Office of National Drug Control PolicyOffice of National Drug Control Policy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy , a former cabinet level component of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, was established in 1989 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988...
or the United States Trade Representative.
Two legal scholars have also questioned whether Congress has contributed to the proliferation of czars. From 1939 to 1984, Congress had authorized the president to consolidate functions and agencies within the Executive branch, pursuant to the Reorganization Act, which minimized the president's administrative burden "of trying to coordinate disparate functions operating under equally disparate authorities." But Congress allowed this authority to expire at the end of President Reagan's first term, leading these scholars to conclude:
Absent reorganization authority, what was a president to do? The president cannot personally coordinate all disparate functions and agencies in the massive federal government. Yet, if a policy fails because of poor coordination, the president is held to account. So it is no coincidence that as the complexity of government machinery has grown, presidents have responded by increasing the number of assistants or "czars" to help with the management and coordination of the executive branch.http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1019/p09s04-coop.html
Criticism
The appointment of "czars" serving the executive branch has been a source of controversy through the years. As early as 1942, an editorial cartoon depicted "Czar of prices" Leon HendersonLeon Henderson
Leon Henderson was the administrator of the Office of Price Administration from 1941 to 1942.Henderson was born in Millville, New Jersey, where he attended Millville High School, and later Swarthmore College...
, "czar of production" Donald Nelson, and "czar of ships" Emory S. Land
Emory S. Land
Vice Admiral Emory Scott Land was an officer in the United States Navy, noted for his contributions to naval architecture, particularly in submarine design. Notable assignments included serving as Chief of the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair during the 1930s, and as Chairman of the U.S...
sharing a throne. In 2009, the non-profit government watchdog organization Taxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Taxpayers for Common Sense is a nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C. in the United States. TCS is a 501 non-profit organization; its 501 affiliate is Taxpayers for Common Sense Action . The current president of TCS is Ryan Alexander...
reported "by our count there are at least 31 active Czars, giving the current administration more Czars than Imperial Russia had in its history."
Critics who charge that czars are unconstitutional ground their complaints in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, which states that the President may nominate "other public Ministers … by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate." In this stance, a czar appointee is only legal if confirmed by the Senate; otherwise, they can not exist until they receive such consent. Based on their interpretation of the constitutional language, these critics argue that czars should be subject to Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
confirmation. The issue is mostly touted by conservatives and Republicans, and during 2009 grew into a staple of anti-Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
activism. Democratic Senator and Constitutional scholar Robert Byrd
Robert Byrd
Robert Carlyle Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrd served as a U.S. Representative from 1953 until 1959 and as a U.S. Senator from 1959 to 2010...
has expressed concern as well, with Byrd writing to Obama that: "The rapid and easy accumulation of power by White House staff can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials." Democratic Senators Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic party member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. From 1983 to 1993, Feingold was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.He is a recipient of the John F...
and Diane Feinstein both questioned whether there was adequate Senate oversight of czar-driven activities. The Republican members of Congress allege that "climate czar" Carol Browner's access to the president had usurped power from other agencies.
By September 2009, Representative Jack Kingston
Jack Kingston
One of the counties he represents is Wheeler County.John Heddens "Jack" Kingston is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Republican Party.- Early life, education and career:...
found 100 cosponsors for a proposed Czar Accountability and Reform Act of 2009, which sought to prohibit taxpayer-paid salaries to “any task force, council, or similar office which is established by or at the direction of the President and headed by an individual who has been inappropriately appointed to such position (on other than an interim basis), without the advice and consent of the Senate.” The Obama administration largely downplayed the concerns, saying that he was doing just what many previous presidents had done. A White House spokesperson said, "The term 'czar' is largely a media creation to make jobs that have existed under multiple administrations sound more exciting. Every president since Nixon has hired smart and qualified people to coordinate between agencies and the White House." At October 2009 hearings before the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, constitutional experts asserted that there was nothing wrong with presidents appointing independent advisors, as long as their authority was exerted in practical, not legal, terms. These experts said that the precedent for "czar"-like positions had been established with the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.
Meanwhile, following the September 2009 resignation of "green jobs czar" Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
, for statements made prior to assuming his position, radio and television commentator Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
targeted several additional "czars" for increased scrutiny by his audience.
The Jones case illustrated that czars for non-confirmation positions may not get as much vetting before being named as one whom an administration knows will have to face the Senate. However, the position itself may have not been that important; Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
fellow Stephen Hess described Jones as a third-tier adviser reporting to a powerless committee.
The historical term itself has come under criticism; in 2009, U.S. Representative Paul Broun
Paul Broun
Paul Collins Broun, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party and the Tea Party Caucus.-Early life, education and career:...
said, "We do not need and should not have czars. The last time I checked, only pre-Communist Russia had czars, and we are certainly not Russia." Prior to resigning, Van Jones himself rejected use of the term, preferring instead "green-jobs handyman". Indeed, the Obama administration as a whole tended to prefer not to use the "czar" term. One Office of Management and Budget veteran said, "I'm not fond of the term czar. It's a name with pejorative connotations hung on these people who are coordinators, facilitators, catalysts ... [the Obama czars controversy is] much ado about very little. Appointing individuals to serve as the focal point on some issues of presidential interest is a tested and [sometimes] very effective way of dealing with such challenges." Resistance to the term has itself a long history; the Interstate Commerce Commissioner during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, Joseph B. Eastman, declared he was not a "Federal railroad czar" upon being appointed transportation coordinator.
The need for czars itself brings a critique: Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. is an American editor, publisher, and businessman. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996...
has said, "It underscores the inefficiency of government that you keep ... having people, hoping that maybe they will get something done that the massive government bureaucracy cannot." With many czars, the challenge of managing them grows, such as was lampooned by the Washington Post
The position continued to be a subject of criticism, and in April 2011, as part of the 2011 federal spending agreement
2011 United States federal budget
The 2011 United States federal budget is the United States federal budget to fund government operations for the fiscal year 2011, which is October 2010–September 2011. The budget is the subject of a spending request by President Barack Obama...
that averted a government shutdown, four czar positions were indeed eliminated.
Effectiveness
Scholars have said that it is not possible to make a universal judgment on the effectiveness of czars.The great strength of czars, their loyalty to the president and lack of other bureaucratic constituencies, can also be a cause of their weakness. While they have direct access to the president, they lack operational authority over governmental agencies and often have little or no budget line. As head of the Office of Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
, Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
found that these reasons significantly limited his ability to influence policy. As "drug czar
Drug Czar
Drug Czar is an informal name for the person who directs drug-control policies in the United States, following the U.S. use of the 'czar' term. The 'drug czar' title was first published in a 1982 news story by United Press International which reported that “Senators... voted 62–34 to establish a...
", William Bennett
William Bennett
William John "Bill" Bennett is an American conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as United States Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988. He also held the post of Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H. W...
also noticed that the lack of direct authority, inability to dispense grants, and relative small staff was a "potentially debilitating institutional weakness" that he needed to overcome.
It is important for czars to have staff they have confidence in. When originally naming an "energy czar", President Nixon suggested that William E. Simon
William E. Simon
William Edward Simon was a businessman, a Secretary of Treasury of the U.S. for three years, and a philanthropist. He became the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury on May 8, 1974, during the Nixon administration. He was reappointed by President Ford and served until 1977. Outside of government, he was...
get staff assigned to him from all of the agencies involved in energy policy. Simon rejected this approach, knowing that those agencies would unload their civil service deadwood onto him; instead, Simon insisted that he also retain his existing position of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
The Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succeeds the Secretary in his absence, sickness, or unavailability...
and the staff there that he had trust in.
The symbolism associated with a czar position be created in a perceived emergency can sometimes be effective in and of itself. During the Y2K run-up, John Koskinen
John Koskinen
John Koskinen served as Non-Executive Chairman of Freddie Mac since September, 2008. He served as President of the U.S. Soccer Foundation from 2004-2008. He previously served as the Deputy Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget,...
of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion could force agencies behind in preparation to defend themselves before the White House and cabinet agencies. Bennett found in the drug czar position that President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
made extraordinary efforts to demonstrate that Bennett had his support, so much so that Bennett fared better bureaucratically than if he had held a regular Cabinet position. Bennett also found that the czar slot lent itself towards taking a "bully pulpit
Bully pulpit
A bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter...
" approach.
In general, the kind of strong authority that the czar position conveys is usually difficult to actually assemble in American political life; instead, the number of bureaucratic organizations engaged in factional disputes and battling for limited resources is just increased by adding the czar position. If a czar actually is strong and effective, then opposition to him or her rises from the governmental bodies which are losing power, and civil libertarians will often publicly object as well.
United Kingdom
In the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the term is more loosely used to refer to high-profile appointments who devote their skills to one particular area. The term was widely used in the British media
Media of the United Kingdom
Media of the United Kingdom consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Internet-based Web sites. The UK also has a strong music industry. The UK has a diverse range of providers, the most prominent being principle public service...
to refer to the appointment of Alan Sugar
Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
to the newly created post of Enterprise Champion
Enterprise Champion
Enterprise Tsar was a position in the UK Government responsible for promoting entrepreneurship and advising the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The role was held by Alan Sugar, the well-known entrepreneur and star of BBC One's The Apprentice, who was also ennobled as Lord Sugar....
, which was dubbed "Enterprise Tsar" by many news agencies.
The nature of the appointment, and the usage of the term "tsar" did receive criticism however, with collumnist Tracy Corrigan in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
suggesting it set as a precedent for the English model Jordan
Jordan (Katie Price)
Katie Price , previously known under the pseudonym Jordan, is an English media personality, author, former glamour model, occasional singer and businesswoman....
to be made the "women’s issues tsarina",
with Conservative life peer Lord Hunt suggesting he could already be a "fallen tsar".
See also
- List of U.S. executive branch czars
- Advice and consentAdvice and consentAdvice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
- List of positions filled by presidential appointment with Senate confirmation
- Politics of the United States during World War IIPolitics of the United States during World War IIThe United States maintained its Representative Democracy government structure throughout World War II. Certain expediencies were taken within the existing structure of the Federal government, such as conscription and other violations of civil liberties, and the internment and later dispersal of...
- Presidency of Barack Obama: Notable non-Cabinet positions