Obama Lobby Pledge May Delay Defense Pick

ABC’s Luis Martinez Reports: Yesterday’s Executive Orders on tough lobbying rules made some folks take more notice of President Obama’s nominee for Deputy Defense Secretary, Bill Lynn, given his recent lobbying position at Raytheon. The order issued by the president on his first full day of office prohibits former lobbyists from working for agencies they had lobbied within the past two years, and requires them to recuse themselves from issues they had handled during that time. 

This afternoon, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., announced that he will delay a vote on Lynn’s nomination pending "further information" on exactly how Lynn will recuse himself from some decisions given his lobbying history or what kind of a waiver might be necessary for him.

“Given the President’s new stricter rules requiring his appointees to recuse themselves from matters or issues on which they have lobbied, the Senate Armed Services Committee will need further information before proceeding with the nomination of William J. Lynn III to be Deputy Secretary of Defense. The committee will await the administration’s assessment as to whether the new rules will preclude Mr. Lynn, who was a registered lobbyist for a defense contractor, from participating in key Department of Defense decisions, and if so, whether a waiver will be forthcoming and what the scope of the waiver will be.”

Defense Secretary Gates said at his news briefing today that he had personally vetted Lynn and found him to be the best qualified for the job and that an exception had to be made to bring him aboard.

Gates said the Obama transition recognized his Raytheon position might become an issue.  "I was very impressed with his credentials; he came with the highest recommendations of a number of people that I respect a lot. And I asked that an exception be made, because I felt that he could play the read of  the deputy in a better manner than anybody else that I saw.  He said that the White House Counsel’s office, presidential personnel and the Pentagon’s General Counsel are making arrangements to get the necessary information to Levin’s committee."