Gregg Nominated to Commerce

nytimes.com — Senator Judd Gregg, named by President Obama as the choice for commerce secretary, once supported eliminating the department he is to lead. He differs with his boss-to-be in favoring oil drilling on the coast of an Alaska wildlife refuge. He promotes a lighter touch with China than does the president. And he disagrees with him in backing private accounts for Social Security. Given all that, Mr. Gregg, a deficit hawk from New Hampshire who is the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, certainly fits with Mr. Obama’s professed desire to create a cabinet with conflicting views. If confirmed, he will be at the top of the list of administration officials having fundamental differences with a president who is enlisting them to advance his agenda.

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