EXECUTIVE WATCH

• On Wednesday, June 3, President Obama nominated Jim Leach as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Jim Leach is a former Republican congressman, and represents a continuation of the Obama administration’s practice of appointing Republicans to administration positions.
• On Wednesday, June 3, Attorney General Eric Holder reversed a Bush administration order claiming immigrants did not have the constitutional right to effective legal representation during deportation hearings.  As the immigration are not part of the judicial branch, but rather the Justice department, the Attorney General holds the final authority. Although immigrants are not entitled to public representation, they can hire a private attorney.
• On Wednesday, June 3, Israeli administration officials claimed they had a ‘clear understanding’ with the Bush administration, allowing for continued Israeli building in the West Bank. The officials claim the Obama administration has failed to uphold these agreements. Palestinians have denounced new building within existing settlements, claiming it violates a cessation of expansion agreeement.
• On Thursday, June 4, President Obama delivered a landmark speech in Cairo, directed at Arab citizens and leadership. The address struck a conciliatory tone, calling for a ‘new beginning’ between the United States and the Arab world and urging democracy. The speech was intended to convey Obama’s understanding of Arab culture, emphasizing his own ancestory and quoting from the Qu’ran.
• On Thursday, June 4, President Obama named eight diplomatic appointments, including three to top fundraisers from his campaign. In total, nominations were announced for eight ambassadorships, to Canada, the Bahamas, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Guinea, Lithuania, and Haiti.
• On Friday, June 5, First Lady Michelle Obama named Susan Sher as her new chief of staff, replacing Jackie Norris. Sher is a long time Chicago friend of the First Lady, formerly her boss at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Norris will become a senior adviser for the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• On Friday, June 5, President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, laying a rose at a memorial. Obama spoke out against Holocaust denial, calling it a “denial of fact and truth that is baseless and ignorant and hateful.”
• On Friday, June 5, a draft of Senator Ted Kennedy’s health care legislation was circulated to the Senate. The plan calls for sweeping subsidization of premiums and promising access to ‘essential health care benefits.’  The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Kennedy, has scheduled a mark-up session for mid-June. However, due to health concerns, Kennedy will not be present for much of the debate around his health care proposals.
• On Friday, June 5, President Obama’s nominee to head intelligence operations for the Department of Homeland Security, Philip Mudd, withdrew from consideration. It had become clear that Mudd’s role in CIA interrogation operations would delay his confirmation
• On Saturday, June 6, President Obama signalled the beginning of his administration’s push for health care reform, calling Congress to begin dealing with the ever-present issue in his weekly radio address. Obama emphasized centering reform around lowering costs, improving coverage and eliminating waste.
• On Saturday, June 6, President Obama praised the ‘selflessness’ of those who lost their lives on the beaches of Normandy in the D-day invasion at a speech at the American Normandy Cemetary. Marking the 65^th anniversary of the invasion, Obama was joined by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
• On Sunday, June 7, Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said he would outline his “principles for achieving peace and security” within the next week. This announcement signalling Netanyahu’s intention to engage in peace talks comes under rising pressure from the Obama administration. Netanyahu has largely resisted U.S. efforts over the peace process.
• On Monday, June 8, President Obama denounced the sentencing in North Korea of two American journalists to twelve years for entering the country. The United States said it would use “all possible channels” to obtain the safe release of the two imprisoned Americans.
• On Monday, June 8, an American-backed coalition triumphed over the Hezbollah-backed coalition in Lebanon in parliamentary elections, which some analysts attribute to Obama’s recent renewal of Arab-American relations. The American coalition won a total of 71 seats, while the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah opposition won 57 seats.
• On Tuesday, June 9, the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge against Chrysler’s sale of most of its assests to the European automaker, Fiat. Rather than hear the case on its merits, the Court declared that the challengers, several Indiana state funds and consumer groups, had failed to meet its burden to require the Court to intervene. On Monday, June 8, Justice Ginsburg issued a temporary order delaying the sale, but Tuesday’s decision cleared the way. The Court’s decision is considered a victory for the Obama administration who has lobbied for the reconstruction of the failing American automaker.
• On Tuesday, June 9, Defense Secretary Gates appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee, giving hopeful testimony about the ongoing effort in Afghanistan.  Gates emphasized the possibility of cooperation between the Pakistani’s, Afghani’s and the United States as providing optimism.
• On Tuesday, June 9, Senate Democrats revealed that the hearings on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor would begin July 13, which was followed by angry reaction from Senate Republicans. Republicans have called for the hearings to be delayed until September, however, Democrats claim the current schedule should put the hearings concluding before the August recess. This decision is consistent with the Obama administration’s desire for an expedited hearing.
• On Tuesday, June 9, George Mitchell, Obama’s Middle East Envoy, met with Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv. Mitchell encouraged peace talks between the Israeli’s and Palestinians, but made little reference to the Administration’s calls for a halt to building Israeli settlements.

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