WH: Bryson to Head Commerce Dept

The AP reports:

President Barack Obama will nominate businessman John Bryson to lead the Commerce Department, a White House official said Tuesday. Bryson's appointment brings another private sector player into an administration that has been making a concerted effort to improve its relationship with the business community.

Bryson is a former chairman and chief executive officer of Edison International, a California-based energy company. He also has an extensive background in environmental issues, having co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council and served on a United Nation's advisory group on energy and climate change.

If confirmed by the Senate, Bryson would replace outgoing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, whom Obama recently named as his next ambassador to China.

Obama will announce Bryson's nomination at the White House Tuesday afternoon, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the appointment ahead of the president.

Bryson is the latest businessman to be brought into the administration's fold as the White House grapples with ways to shake its reputation as antibusiness. Private sector leaders have griped about what they see as burdensome new financial and health care regulations, unfriendly tax policies and vast government spending. They were also put off by Obama's harsh depiction of "fat cat bankers" and "reckless practices," a label he applied both to Wall Street and to oil giant BP following the Gulf oil spill.

Following the sweeping Republican victories in the 2010 midterm elections, Obama admitted that he hadn't done enough to assure the business community that he was on its side. That admission was quickly followed by news that Obama would name Bill Daley, a JPMorgan Chase executive, as his chief of staff, giving the business community an ally at the highest levels of the White House.

The president has also named Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, to head an outside panel of economic advisers, known as the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Several other private sector leaders, including those representing small businesses, were also named to the council.