Obama Nominates Drug Czar Kerlikowske for CBP Commissioner, Trade Focus Largely Unclear

Kerlikowske will next require approval from the Senate Finance Committee, which will likely work with members from the Senate Homeland Security committee. The Finance Committee has had jurisdiction over the nomination since customs was part of the Treasury Department, something that has continued since CBP became part of the Department of Homeland Security. The confirmation of a CBP commissioner would mark the first time the agency has had a Senate approved leader since former CBP Commissioner Ralph Basham retired in 2009. President Obama nominated Alan Bersin the same year Basham retired, but Bersin failed to receive confirmation from the Senate (see 12020608). Since then, the agency has been overseen by commissioners in acting roles, first David Aguilar and now Thomas Winkowski. The Senate Finance and Homeland Security Committees did not return requests for comment.

Part of Kerlikowske's appeal as a nominee is the expectation for a non-controversial review in the Senate, said Kelly Herman, a lawyer at Venable who previously worked as a senior attorney at CBP. That choice seems consistent with the now-confirmed nominations of Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman, said Herman. Also helpful is Kerlikowske's drug czar experience, a role that means frequent interaction with the Department of Homeland Security, she said.

Kerlikowske seems to be somewhat of an unknown among the trade community. "I am not familiar with Mr. Kerlikowske or his career in law enforcement," said Larry Friedman, a lawyer with Barnes Richardson. While CBP is "an important law enforcement agency and plays an important role in protecting the national security, it is also critical that the agency continue its tradition of working with trade interests to facilitate legitimate trade. I suspect that, assuming he is confirmed, Kerlikowske will work closely with the veteran employees in the agency on that important mission," he said.

Trade Focus an Open Question

There is some question as to how Kerlikowske would handle the trade oversight role, considering much of his career has been focused on the law enforcement side, both as drug czar and as the chief of police in Seattle before that, said Herman. While trade has seen increased focus from CBP in recent years, the CBP head seems to be a position the Obama and Bush administrations like to see go to people with a security background, she said. As a result, it is hard to know how Kerlikowske will approach many of the trade initiatives -- the Centers for Excellence and Expertise, for instance -- that have gained momentum in recent years, she said. At the same time, something like the Beyond the Border initiative with Canada would likely fit well with Kerlikowske's past, she said.

Express Association of America Executive Director Mike Mullen agreed that Kerlikowske's consideration of trade is a big unknown. "The only question with him is that this is someone who’s lived in a series of enforcement positions, so he should be really strong on border security issues," said Mullen, who was an assistant commissioner at CBP from 2004 to 2009. "It’s a question of how familiar he is with trade issues. I’m not sure he has a full understanding of the CBP need to strike a balance between trade facilitation and security." Still, "there’s really been good progress on trade facilitation over the past three years," Mullen said. "Kerlikowske will have a whole staff at CBP that is very knowledgeable on these issues and will be able to bring him up to speed quickly."

A political leader at CBP will offer some more heft at the agency in working and developing an agenda, said Mullen. "With the acting commissioners, there’s a certain reluctance to lay out a bold strategy for the future," he said. "It’s more maintaining what we have. But now there are big things on the agenda. There’s a lot there right now, particularly with the establishment of the [International Trade Data System], and bringing the government into a single process with clearing customs at the border. That requires a figure with support from the White House. You have to believe a commissioner with that White House access will have more clout in that area."

A new CBP commissioner is unlikely to have a major impact on most trade, according to a long-time customs lawyer. "From a day-to-day perspective, the Commissioner is largely irrelevant to legitimate traders. The career professionals at CBP will continue to handle the details of Customs' commercial operations. It would be nice, though, to return to the days when we had a commissioner who was squarely focused on trade. The last time we had that was pre-9/11 and was probably under George Weise in the Clinton Administration."

A confirmation also won't likely mean much for most CBP employees, said Herman. While there's some morale boost likely to result from the higher profile look at CBP's day-to-day work, operationally there probably won't be a major change, she said. A major reorganization of CBP's offices, something that has happened in the past following a change in leadership at CBP, would be one of the few things that would be of major interest within the 60,000 agency, said Herman. -- Tim Warren, Brian Dabbs, Brian Feito