Obama called Jewell a 'strong and capable leader.' Obama picks REI chief for Interior

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he is nominating Sally Jewell, president and CEO of the outdoor and recreational retailer REI, to replace Ken Salazar as Interior secretary.

Obama called Jewell a “strong and capable leader,” saying she’s “an expert on the energy and climate issues that are going to shape our future. … She knows the link between conservation and good jobs.”


( PHOTOS: Obama's second-term Cabinet picks)

At a 15-minute White House rollout with the president, Jewell said she was “humbled” and “energized” by the appointment.

“I’m going to do my best to fill those big boots of yours,” Jewell told Salazar. Drawing laughter from the audience, she added, “but I think I might get lost in your hat.”

The pick, first reported by The Washington Post, would be well-received by environmental groups yet also offers something for the oil and gas industry: Jewell is a board member of the National Parks Conservation Association and was a young petroleum engineer at Mobil before it merged with Exxon.

( Also on POLITICO: Obama nominates Jewell: Full transcript)

POLITICO reported last week that Jewell had emerged as a serious candidate for the job. But in selecting her, Obama is bypassing potential candidates with longer political résumés, such as former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, along with internal department favorites such as Deputy Secretary David Hayes.

Jewell’s selection drew immediate support from conservation advocates as well as from some oil and gas industry supporters who have criticized Obama’s policies on energy production. But some industry groups weren’t yet ready to endorse her, and one House Republican subcommittee chairman expressed concern about REI’s ties to environmental groups with “radical political agendas.”

“Sally Jewell has the mind of an engineer, the heart of an environmentalist and the know-how of a businesswoman,” said a statement from Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke, who is regarded as one of the most influential environmental advocates on climate policy, while Wilderness Society President Jamie Williams called Jewell “a tremendous leader for conservation at every level.”

“Sally Jewel has combined her business acumen with her love of the outdoors to become one of America’s top CEOs,” said Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the leading Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee. “She is proof positive that common sense, balanced conservation of our open spaces and natural resources can enrich communities, improve quality of life and create jobs.”

Western Energy Alliance President Tim Wigley — whose coalition of oil and gas production companies has been a frequent critic of the Obama administration — also had glowing words for Jewell, saying that “her experience as a petroleum engineer and business leader will bring a unique perspective to an office that is key to our nation’s energy portfolio.”

But Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the top Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, offered a chillier reaction, saying only, “I look forward to hearing about the qualifications Ms. Jewell has that make her a suitable candidate to run such an important agency and how she plans to restore balance to the Interior Department.” And Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said her selection “will likely be met with a cautious wait-and-see approach by the offshore energy industry.”

A harsher response came from Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), chairman of Natural Resources’ Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee, who charged that REI “has intimately supported several special interest groups and subsequently helped to advance their radical political agendas.” When asked to elaborate, a Bishop spokeswoman pointed to REI’s support of groups such as the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Outdoor Industry Association, as well as REI’s promotion of a bill that would add wilderness protections to millions of acres of Utah lands.

Bishop’s news release also included a link to a years-old photo of Salazar outside an REI store in Denver during an announcement about Interior’s “Wild Lands” policy, a short-lived initiative that oil and gas supporters called an attack on energy production.

“Just remember, the secretary announced his horrible Wild Lands policy that we tried to force him to pull back, he did it in front if the REI offices in Denver,” Bishop told reporters. “So there is a history that makes me skeptical.”

Bishop’s office said he would work with Utah Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee “to ensure that Sally Jewell’s past record is fully vetted.”

But Jewell’s selection drew support from one former Interior Department official who called her background an ideal fit.

“Sally has overseen the growth of a $1.8 billion company consistently ranked among the best U.S. companies for which to work. An engineer by training, she is a practical, no-nonsense leader who is focused on results,” the former DOI official said in an email. “Will bring fresh perspective and new ideas: A problem-solver by nature, Sally brings people together to find new solutions to old challenges. She knows Washington, D.C., but she also has the much-needed perspective of a business leader who has forged a career outside of D.C.’s partisanship and politics.”

Bob Abbey, former director of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, also praised the choice while calling it unexpected.

“While I am somewhat surprised with this selection, I have the utmost respect for Ms. Jewell and for the job she has done at REI,” Abbey said in an email to POLITICO. “She is a capable individual who enjoys the support of other business leaders within the recreation industry as well as with many environmental groups.”

On the other hand, some people are taking Jewell’s selection as a signal that more DOI decisions may become more centralized from the White House, noting that she doesn’t have the political heft provided by Salazar’s background as a former senator.

“Salazar was a known entity in Washington, D.C., with his own political base of operations here as well as in Colorado,” said Stephen Brown, vice president for federal government affairs and counsel at the petroleum refining and marketing company Tesoro. “Ms. Jewell is not a political creature, relatively unknown on the Hill, and any power or influence she may have is completely derivative of the president — hence, the White House staff will be running the show.”

But Brown added: “All of that said, her engineering and business credentials could be a welcome respite from the usual folks who tend to get these positions. I just think we all need to temper our expectations of what her nomination indicates.”

Jewell’s appointment would help soothe concerns about the overwhelming presence of white males among Obama’s second-term Cabinet picks.

Salazar announced last month that he will step down by the end of March.

Jewell has had contact with the administration before. She introduced Obama at a 2011 event at the White House regarding the administration’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. She was also among the business leaders invited to the White House in 2009 to be praised for their efforts to lower their companies’ health care costs.

But the pick appeared to surprise some people at Interior and those close to the department. Jewell’s name did not seem to surface as a serious dark-horse contender until late, with much of the speculation to date focused on potential picks such as Gregoire, former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

Grijalva — a darling of the conservation community — recently acknowledged to POLITICO that he wasn’t going to be picked because his critics in the industry would pick apart his liberal voting record. And candidates like Freudenthal and Dorgan would have been met with objections from the conservation camp.

Another name that emerged was former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), who had the backing of oil-state Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.