As Daley put it last month, in reference to attempts to reorganize how the bureaucracy works: "No question that unless you've been in the government, you really can't understand how screwed up it is when it comes to these sort of discussions."
Warner said Daley, as a former Cabinet member and as a top executive at JP Morgan Chase, brings a unique perspective.
"He's been in the belly of the beast."
WASHINGTON — It was a big laugh line in President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech: "The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater. I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."
Behind the joke was an ambitious promise to tame and reorganize segments of the federal bureaucracy. If Obama's new chief of staff, Bill Daley, wields any influence, a primary target will be the Commerce Department.
Its 38,000 employees oversee a diverse portfolio, from helping businesses and conducting the census to providing accurate weather forecasts and granting patentsand trademark protection.
Daley knows the department inside and out. He ran it during the Clinton administration.
Early last month, before Obama named Daley as his top aide, a Democratic-leaning think tank that has been a source of many Obama administration policy ideas laid out a plan to streamline the Commerce Department and sharpen its focus on making U.S. businesses more competitive — the new clarion call at the White House.
Read the complete story by Jim Kuhnhnen of the AP at MSNBC.