We first wrote about Chairman Tenenbaum departing the CPSC and Commissioner Bob Adler assuming the role of Acting Chairman back in October. Last week the CPSC issued a press release confirming that Commissioner Adler became the Acting Chairman of the agency on December 1, 2013 following the Chairman Tenenbaum's departure. The agency's press release also announced the individuals who will serve as the key appointees on Adler's staff. While some of the staff roles have changed, all of the individuals serving on Adler's staff have worked at the CPSC for some time and should be familiar to most who have interacted with the agency over the past few years. You can find more details from the CPSC's press release here.
As we projected in our last post on this subject, we believe that Adler could remain the Acting Chairman for more than just a short period of time during 2014 before a new Chairman is able to be nominated by the White House and confirmed by the Senate. While rumors on the timing of an announcement and even potential names for the new Chairman have swirled around for months now, there really is no way of predicting when the nomination will be announced or who the nominee will be.
The nomination of a new Chairman also potentially impacts the confirmation of Joseph Mohorovic, who was recently nominated to succeed former Republican Commissioner Nancy Nord. Even though the White House announced Mohorovic's nomination in November, the prevailing sentiment remains that his Senate confirmation will hinge on being "paired" with the new Chairman nominee. You can read our last post on Mohorovic's nomination here for more detail.
Although there is much anticipation and speculation about the nomination of a new Chairman, no one should overlook the potential for a significant period of time with Adler at the helm of the agency as the Acting Chairman. Stay tuned for further information as we'll be updating whenever any new information becomes available.
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