By Jueseppi B.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with former Sen. Chuck Hagel in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 7, 2013. The President nominated Sen. Hagel for Secretary of Defense and John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, second from left, for Director of the CIA. Also pictured on stage are acting CIA Director Michael Morrell, left, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, right. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
President Obama Wants Chuck Hagel to Run the Pentagon
By Matt Compton January 07, 2013 The White House Blog
President Barack Obama announces former Senator Chuck Hagel, second from left, as his nominee for Secretary of Defense, and John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, second from right, as his nominee for Director of the CIA, during an announcement in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 7, 2013. Joining them are departing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, and acting CIA Director Michael Morrell, right. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Speaking from the East Room of the White House, President Obama today announced two key nominations for his national security team. He tapped John Brennan to serve as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and he asked Sen. Chuck Hagel to serve as Secretary of Defense.
“Chuck Hagel’s leadership of our military would be historic,” he said. “He’d be the first person of enlisted rank to serve as Secretary of Defense, one of the few secretaries who have been wounded in war, and the first Vietnam veteran to lead the department. As I saw during our visits together to Afghanistan and Iraq, in Chuck Hagel our troops see a decorated combat veteran of character and strength. They see one of their own.”
The President and Hagel have known each other for nearly a decade and served together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Hagel spent two terms in the upper chamber of Congress and helped to lead the fight for passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Under President Reagan, Hagel served as a deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration, and while co-founding his own business, he served as the CEO of the United Service Organization. He’s also co-chaired the Intelligence Advisory Board for President Obama.
“Chuck knows that war is not an abstraction,” President Obama said. “He understands that sending young Americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that’s something we only do when it’s absolutely necessary.”
At the event, Sen. Hagel thanked the President for the opportunity to again serve the United States and its men and women in uniform.
“These are people who give so much to this nation every day with such dignity and selflessness,” he said. “This is particularly important at a time as we complete our mission in Afghanistan and support the troops and military families who have sacrificed so much over more than a decade of war.”
President Obama Nominates John Brennan as CIA Director
By Megan Slack January 07, 2013 The White House Blog
President Barack Obama listens to the remarks of John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism, his nominee for Director of the CIA, during the announcement in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 7, 2013. The President also announced former Senator Chuck Hagel, second from left, as his nominee for Secretary of Defense. Joining them are departing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
After announcing Chuck Hagel as his nominee for the next Secretary of Defense, President Obama today nominated John Brennan as the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Brennan, a 25-year veteran of the CIA, has served as President Obama’s Advisor for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security since 2009. “For the last four years,” President Obama said, “John developed and has overseen our comprehensive counterterrorism strategy — a collaborative effort across the government, including intelligence and defense and homeland security, and law enforcement agencies.”
President Obama called Brennan “one of the hardest working civil servants I’ve ever known” and said that he valued Brennan’s integrity and commitment “to the values that define us as Americans.”
“He has worked to embed our efforts in a strong legal framework,” the President said. “He understands we are a nation of laws. In moments of debate and decision, he asks the tough question and he insists on high and rigorous standards.”
President Obama also invited Brennan to say a few words.
“Leading the agency in which I served for 25 years would be the greatest privilege as well as the greatest responsibility of my professional life,” Brennan said.
Brennan explained that, if confirmed as CIA director, he would “make it my mission to ensure that the CIA has the tools it needs to keep our nation safe, and that its work always reflects the liberties, the freedoms, and the values that we hold so dear.”
President Obama Nominates Chuck Hagel as his nominee for the next Secretary of Defense, And nominates John Brennan as the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Published on Jan 7, 2013
President Obama nominates Chuck Hagel as the next Secretary of Defense and John Brennan as the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. January 7, 2013.
Read about President Obama’s nomination of John Kerry as the next Secretary of State
A Whole-of-Government Commitment to Inclusive Entrepreneurial Growth
Jason Furman and Tom Kalil January 07, 2013 The White House Blog
Jason Furman is Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.
Tom Kalil is Deputy Director for Policy at the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the engines of American innovation and our economic success, and President Obama is committed to helping them grow and prosper. Our nation’s small businesses employ over 60 million Americans, or half of the private sector workforce. Both small businesses and especially new businesses that are less than five years old are particularly important in job creation in the United States, with a relatively small number of rapidly growing companies generating an outsized share of new jobs – in every industry and across the country.
Last year, President Obama spoke with his Cabinet about how every Federal agency has a role to play in promoting the success of American entrepreneurs:
[What] we want to do is to make sure that every single agency, even as they’re tending to their energy initiatives or providing homeland security or transportation or defense, that we’re also thinking about how are we’re advancing the cause of giving small businesses and entrepreneurs opportunities to start creating the next Google or the next Apple or the next innovative company that’s going to create jobs and improve our economy.
The Obama Administration recently released a detailed action plan to achieve this goal of increasing Federal services to entrepreneurs and small businesses, with an emphasis on (1) startups and growing firms and (2) underserved markets. This is one of a select group of Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals, designed to improve government performance on important national priorities.
Why is this important? There are dozens of agencies across the Federal government, and there is always room for closer coordination. By coming together under White House leadership, these agencies are embarking on a sustained, integrated commitment to:
- Continuously improve services for startups and small businesses, with a focus on growth and inclusion;
- Collaborate among agencies toward a shared goal;
- Measure performance with specific milestones and metrics; and
- Track progress every quarter for public view onPerformance.gov.
The action plan lays out a set of ten areas where agencies will work together on the White House Startup America initiative to promote high-growth entrepreneurship and the Administration’sbroader small business agenda. Here are some highlights:
BusinessUSA, a one-stop-shop for businesses to access Federal services, is measuring and optimizing customer satisfaction.
Building on the success of the Entrepreneur Pathways portal, agencies responsible for our immigration system are working together to make administrative improvements to existing visa programs for entrepreneurs seeking to start companies and create jobs in the United States.
Building on the success of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps and a Presidential Memorandum on technology transfer, agencies responsible for federally-funded research and development are working together to accelerate innovation from lab to market, and to increase participation by women and minority entrepreneurs.
Given that the Federal government is an over $80 billion customer for small businesses, agencies are benchmarking their progress toward inclusive contracting goals, and deploying new streamlined models of doing business with innovative high-growth companies, such as “RFP-EZ.”
To maximize our competitive advantage as a nation, we must ensure that, with hard work, American entrepreneurs have the opportunity to find the capital, training, and market access they need to start and grow their businesses. By focusing on this government-wide strategy to improve services for these job-creating firms, the Administration will help widen America’s lead as the most entrepreneurial and competitive country in the world.
Read more about the Entrepreneurship and Small Business CAP Goal here, and check in again next quarter for more progress.
Speeches and Remarks
January 07, 2013
Remarks by the President in Nomination of Secretary of Defense and CIA Director
Statements and Releases
January 07, 2013
Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate
Filed under: Black History, Business, Causes, Congress, Democrats/Democratic, Education, Good News, History, News, Photographs, Politics, POTUS Obama, Speech, The White House, Videos, War & the Military, White House Blog, World News Tagged: | Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Director Of The CIA, East Room, Hagel, John Brennan, Leon Panetta, Obama, Secretary Of Defense, White House
Jueseppi B.
… and baby, you’re welcome.
p.s. dearest try not to mind the haters too much. i know though you’re very strong, what accompanies such strength is ‘tenderness’. it comes with the territory.
As Malcolm X said…“If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success. The more success, the more critics.” That kinda describes my haters.
thank you. know that i very much so needed to hear that wisdom…
I admire Malcolm, one of my very very few heroes.
yes, brotha malcolm x on whose broad and courageous shoulders we stand… worth every bit of admiration!!! could it be we are, or become like, those we admire? yes, of course. …p.s. hi my sweet jueseppi {batting lovely eyelashes at you}
U are something else Ms. Capricornrising…..and thank you.
… oh so back-at-you my barack-like jueseppi.
If it were not so typical of the GOP these days, I would wonder what the fuss over Chuck Hagel was all about. As it is, I just roll my eyes and move on.
Idiots.
It’s all about the GOPretenders wanting to disrespect POTUS Obama and his right to choose his cabinet. Somehow these idiots believe they can treat Barack as if he is a slave, and they are his masters. They believe he will bow down to a group of old ass caucasian men, and not pick whom he desires for his cabinet.
Once again, race is the forefront issue Mr. Publius….because you please show me where any losing political party has ever imagined they had any say so in whom the winning party President decides to put in his cabinet. I’ll wait over here while you type, when this has ever happened to any of the past 43 POTUS.
Hope you are enjoying your morning coffee.
Sorry to get back so late on this, Mr. Jueseppi.
The GOP opposition to President Obama absolutely has it’s roots in a racist reaction to his leadership. No question about it.
Oh never apologize for being busy Mr. Publius, thats a very good thing. How goes drying out the basement?
risking sounding like a religious zealot, all of us, including POTUS has a “cross to bear…” all great leaders do. i interpret the bearing of a cross as enduring the seemingly unendurable. what i share with people of our culture walking through the toxic ridiculousness of racism is to remember our ancestors who traveled 3 months on the slave ships and what they endured through that passage… only to arrive here in the america’s to render over 300 years of FREE labor. if THEY could survive that as individuals and a culture, surely we can survive what the racists hurl upon us now. yes, surely we can and we must!
I agree 5000%
It’s getting dryer. But man… I wish I had jumped on it sooner. I’m cursed with a streak of procrastination, and an obsessive determination to do the job right when I finally get around to it. Truly a troublesome combination. Made me an interesting specimen during my military days. I’ve actually stood for an article 15 for issues with my, ummm… military bearing, and received a letter of commendation in the same month from the same CO. That guy never was sure what to do with me. He got me straight on the military bearing though. I’ll give him that.
You sound like a conundrum Mr. Publius….but fun to know.
GREAT CHOICE mr. president! these men seem wise & kind- tolerant yet no-nonsense. do have a wonder-full tuesday my dearest jueseppi
Hello Ms. Capricornrising….good to see you. POTUS Obama has yet to disappoint me on how he does business….
thanks for responding jueseppi, sir and enjoy your day!
You enjoy your day too….thanks for being here with us.
thanks for having me here baby… kindda sweet on you b’cause you so remind me of Obama, the Great One whom i admire with all my heart, mind, and soul. you may erase this if it comes off as inappropriate… i’ll understand.
It’s nice to be thought of as a reminder of Barack, and with all the garbage comments I receive in a day from jealous envious haters, you “kinda sweet” on me is a welcome difference from the idiots. Thank you Ms. Capricornrising, for your kind words and your returning from your hiatus…
… then i shall remain sweet on you & barack… ummm, feels so gooood…