BBG governor steps down
The Broadcasting Board of Governors lost another governor today when S. Enders Wimbush told the board he was leaving his post and the organization. "As you all know, I recently assumed a new position with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Over the past few months, given the demands of that position and an ...
The Broadcasting Board of Governors lost another governor today when S. Enders Wimbush told the board he was leaving his post and the organization.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors lost another governor today when S. Enders Wimbush told the board he was leaving his post and the organization.
"As you all know, I recently assumed a new position with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Over the past few months, given the demands of that position and an increasingly heavy travel schedule, I have not been able to devote the time and attention to my BBG role that I would like," Wimbush wrote in his resignation letter to the board.
From 1987-93, Wimbush served as director of Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany.
As one of the four Republicans on the nine-member board, Wimbush will be replaced by a new board member chosen principally by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). President Barack Obama formally appoints McConnell’s choices for the GOP seats and the president chooses the nominees for the four Democrat seats himself.
All board members must be confirmed by the Senate except for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who serves on the board ex-officio and is represented there by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Tara Sonenshine.
"We extend our deepest thanks to Enders Wimbush for all he has done, not only during nearly two years with the Board, but through many years — including his leadership at RFE/RL during the collapse of communism and the demise of the Soviet Union," BBG Presiding Governor Michael Lynton said in a statement. "Enders has brought quality, erudition and distinction to the mission of U.S. international media; what’s more, he put his heart and soul into it."
Lynton is the de-facto chairman of the board because the most recent chairman, Aspen Institute head Walter Isaacson, resigned in February to devote more time to his next book. We’re told by administration sources that the White House is close to announcing Isaacson’s replacement.
Of the six remaining board members, besides Clinton, four are already operating past the expiration of their terms. Lynton and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino will see their terms expire this August. While it’s not unusual for board members to extend their terms, technically they are supposed to be formally re-nominated by the White House. Lags in this process have been prevalent for years, however.
Inside the BBG, knowledgeable sources tell The Cable that the Wimbush resignation comes after a long period of enmity between Wimbush and another GOP board member, former Ambassador to Poland Victor Ash. Wimbush did not respond to a request for comment.
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
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