Yes, we said Tuesday that the announcement that could — emphasizing that we did say could — come on Wednesday… and no, it didn’t happen… clearly. They must have been too busy talking government contracting? We expect it to come any day now… Thursday?

Of course, I’m still curious if they say anything about when he actually started working at OMB… or whether it will just say that “the White House appointed…”

There also is some buzz around the OMB deputy director of management post. Of course, that was going to be Nancy Killifer, whose nomination ran aground over the tax issue. One of the names that has been floating around: Patricia McGinnis. Most recently, of course, McGinnis was president and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government until she resigned. The Council for Excellence in Government… well, it dissolved earlier this year and the Partnership for Public Service took on some of the programs — and most of the employees.

Meanwhile, over at GSA, while we had heard that a new administrator nominee was just around the corner … apparently it is going to be a much bigger corner then we thought. The buzz — unconfirmed — is that the post was offered to Martha Johnson, who served as the GSA chief of staff under the then administrator David Barram, but that she turned it down because of personal family reasons. Again — this is unconfirmed. Word is that Johnson was the administration first choice, and that the search continues.

that being said, many people believe there is the need for a strong GSA administrator. GSA has been buffeted by a difficult few years and many — both inside and outside the agency — hope that the Obama administration can select somebody who knows GSA. Two names often mentioned: Frank Pugliese, who served as the commissioner of GSA’s then Federal Supply Service. Pugliese is known to be interested in the job — and he is passionate about GSA. While some see him as gruff at times, he is also widely recognized as somebody who will get things done… and he is widely respected. The other name that makes the rounds is Bill Gormley, the president and CEO of Washington Management Group and the former Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Acquisition at GSA’s then-Federal Supply Service. Both names have often circulated around the GSA administrator post, in part because they know the organization so well.

Again, this is just talk and speculation. If and when we hear something more real, we’ll certainly report back. (Sometimes transition feels like sitting outside the Vatican waiting for the white smoke to come from chimney…)

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