WASHINGTON — Seeking to boost exports and accelerate the growth of the U.S. alternative-energy industry, President Barack Obama is bringing in business executive and environmentalist John Bryson to lead the Commerce Department.
But Bryson’s nomination was already in peril Tuesday as Republican lawmakers renewed their threats to block any commerce-secretary nominee until the Obama administration sends them final legislation on three key free-trade agreements.
Bryson, 67, would bring a unique skill set to the Commerce Department, an agency tasked in part with representing the interests of U.S. businesses abroad. He is the former chairman and chief executive of Edison International, a California-based power company; was the co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy organization; and has served on the boards of major international businesses, including Boeing and Walt Disney Co.
Obama announced Bryson’s nomination Tuesday at the White House, lauding him as “a business leader who understands what it takes to innovate, create jobs and to persevere through tough times.”
Tuesday’s announcement shifts Obama’s focus back to the economy after several weeks dominated by foreign policy, from the death of Osama bin Laden to the president’s four-country European trip. Though the economy has rebounded from the depths of the recession, unemployment remains at 9 percent and the White House expects the economy to be the top issue as Obama runs for re-election.
Among Bryson’s key roles at Commerce would be overseeing Obama’s plans to double U.S. exports in the next four years, an initiative the president says would lead to much-needed job growth.
But the president also would be gaining a key energy adviser, particularly in the clean-energy sector.
Bryson helped oversee Edison’s transformation into a leading wind and solar company and launched a plan to turn 65 million square feet of unused commercial rooftops into solar-power stations with enough electricity for more than 160,000 homes.
If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson would replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, whom Obama recently named as his next ambassador to China.
Bryson is the latest businessman to be brought into the administration as the White House grapples with ways to shake its reputation as anti-business. Private-sector leaders have griped about what they see as burdensome new financial and health care regulations, unfriendly tax policies and vast government spending.
Obama earlier named Bill Daley, a JPMorgan Chase executive, as his chief of staff.
