We’ve told you about the Bush administration’s last-ditch efforts to help political appointees burrow into career posts in the bureaucracy — where they can quietly affect government policy for years to come.
Well it looks like we’ve found another example.
A spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development told TPMmuckraker today that Darlene Williams, who was appointed by President Bush in 2005 to the post of Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, will return to a career post under the new administration.
Williams had joined the department in 2003 as General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research, before shifting over in 2005 to become General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration. Both of these are career posts. Later that year, she was appointed by Bush to the higher-ranking political job she now holds.
That’s slightly different from the usual burrowing dynamic, in which presidential appointees are new to the department. But it would appear to be burrowing all the same.
This is hardly the first sign of muck at HUD under Bush. Former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson was found in a 2006 inspector general’s report to have urged staff members to favor friends of President Bush when awarding contracts. When Jackson resigned earlier this year, federal authorities were investigating whether he used his position to enrich himself and his friends.
As for Williams, she’s drawn criticism from HUD workers and their union for leading a controversial office move, which is transferring members of the Policy Development and Research team into temporary cubicles while part of the office is renovated.