The New York Times reports that Vivek Kundra has been reinstated to his post as the federal government’s Chief Information Officer. From the article:
It seems that Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who is also chairman of the Democratic National Committee, had pleaded Mr. Kundra’s case to the White House to get him reinstated. After the FBI raid on Mr. Kundra’s old office, the White House wanted to distance itself from him and placed him on leave, according to someone familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak for anyone. Mr. Kundra felt his reputation had come under a cloud, this person said, and over the last few days, as his friends began to rally support for him, he called Governor Kaine, for whom he once worked.
The governor called the White House and pleaded Mr. Kundra’s case, according to the person familiar with the matter although a spokesman for Mr. Kaine said he was unaware of any contact. It is not clear who he spoke with. But the person familiar with the situation said that Mr. Kaine said that since Mr. Kundra was not under investigation, he should be reinstated. Otherwise, he said, Mr. Kundra’s reputation would be ruined and the administration would miss out on having someone with valuable skills help with its important task of making the government more transparent.
I am glad to see Kundra back on the job. I hope this means he’ll start updating his Twitter feed and shed some light into these recent events. This is the perfect opportunity to lead by example.
Tags: CIO, Kaine, Kundra, leadership, transparency, Twitter, White House
