MIA: White House Development Council And Two MCC Board Members

The White House sent an early Valentine this year to the development community: an executive order establishing the President Obama’s Global Development Council. But has the White House turned its affections elsewhere? To date, there is no news of who will be on the council or when it will meet. Meanwhile, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is still missing two of four public board members (and hasn’t had a full board since September 2009). Both issues could use (and deserve) a little love from the Presidential Personnel Office.When the White House called for nominees for the Global Development Council, I urged the development community to suggest names of the best thinkers and do-ers to advise the president on development. I didn’t want the White House to get stood up by the development community. Months later, it looks like the reverse might be true. The council is a good idea—and I know at least a few eligible developmentistas holding out hope they might be named to the council—but time’s a-wasting. It’s hard to imagine a council could have much influence in the waning days before the 2012 presidential election.The Global Development Council is modeled in part after the smart MCC board structure that includes five government and four non-government members. But the MCC board will still be missing two public members when it meets tomorrow (and decides, for example, whether to lift Malawi’s MCC suspension). Remember when MCC was missing three of the four members way back in July 2010? By October 2010, the MCC was missing all four public board members and had to postpone its December 2010 board meeting because they didn’t have a quorum. Alan Patricof and Ambassador Mark Green were finally confirmed at the end of December 2010. But it’s June 2012 now and two slots remain vacant.The MCC public board member confirmation process can breakdown at a few points: nomination from congressional leaders, vetting and approval at the White House, and confirmation by Congress. I understand former MCC board member Lorne Craner agreed to another term, House Republican leadership sent his name to the White House, and the White House personnel office might be waiting for the fourth nominee before it sends both names to Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is responsible for nominating the fourth MCC board member. The White House could still be waiting for Sen. Reid’s office to nominate someone. But given the amount of time that has passed,  I suspect Sen. Reid’s office has sent a name forward and the White House personnel office either hasn’t started vetting and it isn’t a priority, or (more likely) has found a problem in the vetting process.If there is a problem with the nomination, White House PPO would have to go back to Sen. Reid and say “no” to a Reid supporter. While this can’t be a fun task for a White House trying to work well (and play nice) with Democratic leadership in Congress, I’d like to believe the cost to the MCC mission and smart structure would outweigh a seemingly small political cost in the nomination process. And if not, the personnel office could at least move Lorne Craner’s nomination forward alone.Here’s hoping that that Global Development Council and the MCC board can get a little love and attention from the Presidential Personnel Office this summer.