By Emelie Rutherford
The senator posing perhaps the greatest barrier to former lobbyist William Lynn being confirmed to the No. 2 Pentagon post said he will not block the confirmation vote this week, provided he can air his concerns about Lynn’s work in the Clinton Pentagon.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) told Defense Daily he will not hold up Lynn’s confirmation this week if the full Senate vote is not held before Tuesday and if he is allotted an hour to speak about Lynn on the Senate floor.
If that criteria is met, Grassley said late last week, “I’ll debate it and let it go to a vote.” Asked his prediction for what will happen with Lynn, the senator said, “He’ll be approved.”
President Obama’s nomination of Lynn, a Raytheon [RTN] executive who lobbied for the firm until last year, has been dogged by questions about Lynn’s lobbying, a waiver the White House granted Lynn allowing him to bypass new ethics rules, and the nominee’s past service as Pentagon chief financial officer. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved Lynn’s nomination last Thursday, after Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) dropped his objection upon receiving from Lynn a list of Raytheon matters from which Lynn would recuse himself.
Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, exchanged a series of letters with Lynn last week grilling the nominee on his past Raytheon lobbying and on financial practices–which the senator describes as dubious and calls “Straight Pay” and “Pay and Chase”–Lynn used as Pentagon chief financial officer in the late 1990s. Grassley wrote to Lynn two weeks ago with a series of questions and received a response letter dated Feb. 3 from Lynn, which was widely circulated by the Project on Government Oversight. The senator last Thursday then sent Lynn a second letter seeking clarification on some of his answers, and the nominee replied to Grassley the same day. Grassley’s office was writing a third letter to Lynn last Friday, the senator’s spokeswoman said.
Lynn wrote to Grassley in the Feb. 3 letter that he would recuse himself for a year from the Raytheon programs for which he lobbied; those Raytheon interests include the Navy’s DDG-1000 destroyer program.
Grassley also exchanged letters with the White House questioning the waiver granted three weeks ago that allows Lynn to bypass sections of Obama’s new ethics-related executive order. Those sections ban government appointees for two years from working for agencies on issue areas they lobbied, and from participating in matters related to their former employers.
Grassley told Defense Daily he does not want the vote on Lynn’s nomination to come before Tuesday because, “We sent some letters back for answers, and I want to make sure that everybody’s in town.”
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) also has voiced concerns about Lynn and is expected to share them on the Senate floor, aides said.
It was not clear, as of Defense Daily‘s deadline last Friday, if Grassley’s wish for a Tuesday vote will be granted. SASC Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and an aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) both said the vote could be held today (Monday), though a final decision had not been made as of Friday afternoon. At the time the Senate was enmeshed in debate over the economic-stimulus bill.
Levin told reporters he is “very optimistic” the Senate will confirm Lynn.
“There was no dissent in the committee, no negative vote, it was a voice vote, but no one asked for a roll call, so I am confident it will be passed” in the full Senate, Levin said. He added he expected no resistance to Grassley receiving floor time to debate Lynn’s qualities,
The SASC last Thursday also approved and sent to the Senate floor Obama’s nominations of Robert Hale to be Pentagon comptroller and chief financial officer, Michele Flourney to be under secretary of defense for policy choice, and Jeh Charles Johnson to be Pentagon general counsel.