Indiana Congressman Calls For White House 'Green Jobs' Czar To Resign

U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) issued a statement Friday calling for Van Jones, a member of President Barack Obama's Council on Environmental Quality, to resign from his position, and urged the President to suspend future appointments of “Czars" pending a Congressional review.

“Given recent revelations concerning the associations and statements of the president's green jobs czar, Van Jones should resign his position and if he is unwilling to do so, the president should demand his resignation. His extremist views and coarse rhetoric have no place in this Administration or the public debate," said Pence, who is the Chairman of the House Republican Conference.

Jones, who declared himself a "communist" at one point in the 1990's, apologized on Wednesday for signing a 2004 petition calling on former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and others to launch an investigation into evidence that suggests Bush administration officials may have knowingly allowed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to happen.

In the apology, Jones said, "I do not agree with this statement and it certainly does not reflect my views now or ever."

Yesterday, Jones issued a second mea culpa, this time for disparaging remarks he made about the GOP prior to becoming a member of the Obama administration. Responding to a question following a lecture on energy he gave in Berkely, Calif. this past February, Jones called Republicans "assholes."

"In recent days some in the news media have reported on past statements I made before I joined the administration...If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize," stated Jones in his apology, adding that the remarks "do not reflect the views of this administration."

In his statement, Pence called for additional oversight for the appointment of Czars, whose positions do not require Senate confirmation.

“In the wake of these recent revelations, the president should suspend any further appointments of so-called 'czars' until Congress has an opportunity to examine the background and responsibilities of these individuals and to determine the constitutionality of such appointments, which have spanned multiple administrations," he said.

White House Morning Meeting

Visitor Logs

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs called the White House decision to release visitor logs "as important a transparency mechanism as has been instituted in decades" and said that for future administrations it would be "difficult if not impossible to walk away from." He said that visits will not be included in the release if they fall into one of three categories: family visits, such as friends of Malia and Sasha; national security exceptions, such as covert operatives; and meetings with people like potential Supreme Court nominees. Gibbs said that all decisions to withhold records under the national security exception will be reviewed by the White House Counsel's office each month. He also said that visit logs "held back" for people such as nominees will be later released, and the White House will disclose how many records are being held back.

Gibbs cited the number of records—70–100 thousand per month—as a reason for not releasing the visit logs for the entire administration. Gibbs said that he would check with the Counsel's office about whether the same disclosure policies would apply to Camp David and Air Force One. The records will include the visitor's full name, whom he or she met with, and the time of entry and departure.

School Address

Gibbs said the upset over President Obama's address to school kids is "a little bit of the silly season," and that if telling kids to study hard and stay in school is a political message, someone should tell the NBA. Gibbs noted that Presidents Reagan (in 1988) and H. W. Bush (in 1991) also addressed school children. Responding to schools that are not going to be showing the address, Gibbs said that "there are school districts that won't let you read Huckleberry Finn," but he also said there could be logistical reasons for some schools refusals.

Jobs Report

On the new jobless numbers out this morning, Gibbs said that the country is "continuing to see a slowing of the pace of job loss," pointing out that new jobless claims are about one-third what they were in January. He attributed the slowing to manufacturing numbers being up, new home sales being up, and consumer confidence being up.

Van Jones

Gibbs refused to discuss the Van Jones allegations, saying only that the "Truther" statements are not something the president agrees with and confirming that Van Jones continues to work in the administration.