Judith McHale was sworn in as Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs this morning of May 26, 2009. This means it’s finally time to update the Under Secretary tracking spreadsheet.
| Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy | Sworn In | Resigned | Days in Office | Days Position Vacant | Total Days | % Vacant |
| Evelyn Lieberman (Clinton) | 10/1/1999 | 1/20/2001 | 477 | |||
| 1/21/2001 | 10/2/2001 | 254 | ||||
| Charlotte Beers (Bush) | 10/2/2001 | 3/28/2003 | 542 | |||
| 3/29/2003 | 12/16/2003 | 262 | ||||
| Margaret Tutwiler | 12/16/2003 | 6/30/2004 | 197 | |||
| 7/1/2004 | 7/29/2005 | 393 | ||||
| Karen P. Hughes | 7/29/2005 | 12/14/2007 | 868 | |||
| 12/15/2007 | 6/4/2008 | 172 | ||||
| James K. Glassman | 6/5/2008 | 1/16/2009 | 225 | |||
| 1/17/2009 | 1/20/2009 | 3 | ||||
| 1/21/2009 | 5/25/2009 | 124 | ||||
| Judith McHale (Obama) | 5/26/2009 | 1 | ||||
| Since USIA-State Merger | 2310 | 1208 | 3518 | 34% | ||
| Bush Administration | 1832 | 1084 | 2916 | 37% | ||
| Obama Administration | 1 | 124 | 125 | 99% | ||
| Today: | 5/26/2009 |
Now can we set a timer on when the deeply problematic bureaucratic and functional division between public affairs and public diplomacy within the Under Secretary’s office will be eliminated? Will Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley work for the Under Secretary who does have the “and Public Affairs” in her title? I suppose it depends on the direction and empowerment of “R”, which remains unclear but there are signs it could change sooner than later…
This chart is extremely helpful for us military educators. Thanks.
Hip, hip, hurray for State…now let’s start tracking one of U/Sec McHale’s key critical counterparts: the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (ASD(PA), who reports directly to the SECDEF). DoD hasn’t had an actual ASD(PA) since Dorrance Smith departed — and he was a recess appointee, which means we haven’t had a Senate-confirmed ASD(PA) since Larry DiRita. Yes, DoD has a couple very good deputy/Acting ASD(PA)s — first Bob Hastings and now Price Floyd — but that’s not the same as having an actual ASD – at least not in terms of the Administration demonstrating seriousness for improving communication.