Senate committee to hold hearing on legality of czars

By Eric Zimmermann - 10/05/09 05:23 PM ET

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow on the role and responsibilities of executive branch "czars."

For several weeks, Republicans have attacked the President for appointing high level czars that do not require Senate confirmation.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), one of the few Democrats to echo the GOP's skepticism about czars, will chair tomorrow's hearing.

Democratic defenders of the President have pointed out the positions originated in the Reagan administration and proliferated under George W. Bush, something they'll likely emphasize at tomorrow's hearing.

See the witness list for the hearing after the jump.

WITNESSES:

T.J. Halstead
Deputy Assistant Director, American Law Division,
Congressional Research Service
Library of Congress
Washington, DC

John C. Harrison
James Madison Distinguished Professor of Law
Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation Research Professor
University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA

Bradley H. Patterson, Jr.
Author, To Serve the President (2008)
Bethesda, MD

Tuan Samahon
Associate Professor
Villanova University School of Law
Villanova, PA

Matthew Spalding
Director, B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies
The Heritage Foundation
Washington, DC

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... g-on-czars