A former FCC political appointee who got a career job...
A former FCC political appointee who got a career job at NASA in 2008 was listed in a GAO report released Tuesday which was critical of the practice known as “burrowing.” Unlike political appointments, career jobs don’t end at the…
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end of an administration. “Burrowing,” or moving to a career job from a political post, isn’t necessarily wrong, but “Federal agencies must use appropriate authorities and follow proper procedures in making these conversions,” GAO said. The NASA/FCC listing wasn’t among cases marked by GAO in the report as possibly inappropriate. The appointee, although not named by GAO, was identified as a “deputy chief of the FCC Enforcement Bureau” who joined NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston sometime between May 1, 2005 and April 30, 2009, GAO said. The individual made $158,800 at the FCC and $158,500 at NASA, GAO said. Those details match those of the Johnson Center’s current director of external relations, Ellen Conners, who joined in 2008 after leaving a post as deputy Enforcement Bureau chief. Conners previously served two years as chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board under former President George W. Bush. A GAO spokesman declined to name the person, and Conners didn’t respond to a request for comment.