Clay Johnson III

Clay Johnson III has served as Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget since 2003. Johnson also heads the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. Prior, Johnson served as Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel and Deputy to the Chief of Staff in the first administration of President George W. Bush.

Johnson is rumored to be the replacement as Director of Homeland Security for Michael Chertoff, who is, himself, rumored to be the replacement for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who resigned August 27, 2007, effective September 17, 2007. Johnson and George W. Bush share a long relationship. They were classmates at both Yale University and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and Johnson was one of Bush's "DKE fraternity brothers." . Johnson was with Governor George W. Bush in Austin, Texas, from 1995 to 2000, "first as his Appointments Director, then as his Chief of Staff, and then as the Executive Director of the Bush-Cheney Transition.

In May 2003, then White House spokesman Ari Fleischer "describe[d] Johnson as 'the President's best friend from his high school days and forward.'"

"In Washington, Johnson is known not only for having the ear of the president, but also for speaking on the president's behalf. His booming Southern baritone has been an important instrument in the Bush administration's campaign to bring private sector management strategies to the federal government."

Controversy

 * Budget accountability: In June 2005, Comptroller General David M. Walker and Johnson "testified that federal spending growth looms as a major problem".
 * Bush's point man on filling top government jobs.
 * Johnson, also with ties to the energy industry, aided in the placement of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist, Lawrence B. Lindsey, Bush's top economic coordinator, and I. Lewis Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, all who stated in their initial financial disclosure statements, that they had holdings in Enron. Additionally, Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser, "had stock holdings of $250,000 to $500,000 in the Chevron Corporation and earned $60,000 as a director of the company in the last year."
 * A few months after the White House got a list of recommended candidates from former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay, a friend and backer of President Bush, two of them were appointed to a federal energy commission. Lay gave the list of names to Clay Johnson, Bush's personnel director, [according to] White House spokeswoman Anne Womack.... Among the eight or so names were Pat Wood, [in 2002] chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and Nora Brownell, a member of the commission."


 * Chickenhawk: "While volunteering for active-duty military service was unusual in 1966, it was practically unheard of by 1968. A Bush roommate, Clay Johnson III, could think of only one close Yale acquaintance who served in Vietnam."
 * Data security and breach notification policy:
 * "Having a proper breach notification system is important, but the OMB would certainly prefer that breaches not happen in the first place. To that end, Johnson suggests a policy not often heard in government or business: reduce the volume of information collected 'to the minimum necessary.'"
 * Social Security number breaches.


 * Oil industry ties: In June 2001, Johnson "reported holding a stake in El Paso Energy Partners valued at $100,000 to $250,000. El Paso is a Houston oil and natural gas company. As part of his White House duties, Mr. Johnson has been involved in selecting people to fill vacancies at the energy regulatory commission, which oversees the natural gas market. ... There was no indication in his disclosure statement that Mr. Johnson intended to sell his stake in El Paso."
 * President's Management Agenda (PMA): Johson advised against Bush touting the PMA in his 2004 presidential campaign: "If Bush emphasizes his management agenda during the campaign, civil servants may start to question the administration's motives for pursuing the effort, Johnson said. Doubts may 'creep into [their] minds' as to whether the agenda is designed with their interests at heart."
 * "Sunset Commission": Johnson is the "man behind" the commission, which could, "[in] practice, ... enable the Bush administration to achieve what Ronald Reagan only dreamed of: the end of government regulation as we know it. With a simple vote of five commissioners -- many of them likely to be lobbyists and executives from major corporations currently subject to federal oversight -- the president could terminate any program or agency he dislikes."

Profiles
"Johnson was CEO of the Dallas Museum of Art from 1992-94 and President of the Horchow Collection, a mail order catalogue division of Neiman Marcus, from 1983-91; he was marketing director 1981-82. Johnson has also worked for Frito-Lay and Wilson Sporting Goods."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Bush administration cronyism and incompetence
 * Bush's White House Staff
 * Office of Strategic Initiatives

External articles

 * Alan C. Miller and Judy Pasternak, "Records show Bush's focus on big picture," Los Angeles Times (CNN), August 2, 2000.
 * "Clay Johnson's 'Where We'd Be Proud To Be' Memo," GovExec.com, May 21, 2003.
 * "Clay Johnson III Confirmed by Senate as Deputy Director for Management, OMB," INPUT.com, June 13, 2003.
 * Interview: Clay Johnson, PBS Frontline/The Choice 2004.
 * Dan Froomkin, "Kessler on the Writing of 'A Matter of Character'," Washington Post, August 4, 2004.
 * Kathryn Jean Lopez, "W., Beyond the Caricatures. Journalist Ronald Kessler takes a look inside the Bush 43 White House," National Review Online, August 9, 2004.
 * Richard W. Walker, "Chief of Chiefs: OMB’s Clay Johnson: A COO by any name can get the job done," Government Leader, March 2005.
 * Christopher Lee, "Bush Aims to Expand System of Merit Pay. Unions Criticize Plan Based on DHS Model," Washington Post, July 19, 2005.
 * ason Miller, "OMB's Clay Johnson predicts e-government's future," GCN.com, April 5, 2006.
 * Sheryl Gay Stolberg, "Bush Friends, Loyal and Texan, Remain a Force," New York Times, February 21, 2007.
 * Ronald Kessler, "Clay Johnson III: The President's Close Friend," NewsMax, August 8, 2007.
 * "POGO Letter to OMB’s Clay Johnson regarding integrity of Inspector General system," Project on Government Oversight, August 17, 2007.
 * Bob Fertik, "Who is Clay Johnson?" Democrats.com, August 27, 2007.
 * BooMan, "No to Chertoff as AG," Booman Tribune, August 27, 2007.

External resources

 * Clay Johnson III in the Wikipedia.
 * Testimony of the Honorable Clay Johnson III before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, November 9, 2005.