Press Release - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

•      Steve A. Linick, Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency

•      Thomas Hicks, Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission

President Obama said, "The expertise and commitment to public service these individuals bring to their roles will make them tremendous assets to my administration. I look forward to working with them in the coming months and years."

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

Steve A. Linick, Nominee for Inspector General, Federal Housing Finance Agency

Steve A. Linick is a career Federal prosecutor who currently serves in dual roles as the Executive Director of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force at the Department of Justice, and the Deputy Chief of the Fraud Section, Criminal Division of the Department of Justice. As Deputy Chief, Mr. Linick manages and supervises the investigation and prosecution of white-collar criminal cases involving procurement fraud, public corruption, corporate fraud, telemarketing fraud, mortgage fraud, and money laundering, among others. In addition, Mr. Linick is the primary point of contact at the Department for contract fraud cases relating to the wars and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In October 2008, Mr. Linick received the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in leading the Department's procurement fraud initiative. Previously, Mr. Linick was an Assistant United States Attorney, first in the Central District of California (1994-1999), and then subsequently in the Eastern District of Virginia (1999-2006). Between 2004 and 2006, Linick was Deputy Chief of the Fraud Unit in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Before joining the federal government, Mr. Linick was an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia from 1992 to 1994, and an associate at Newman & Holtzinger in Washington, D.C. from 1990 to 1992. Linick holds a J.D. (1990), a M.A. in Philosophy (1990), and a B.A. in Philosophy (1985), all from Georgetown University.

Thomas Hicks, Nominee for Commissioner, Election Assistance Commission

Thomas Hicks has been the Senior Elections Counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration since 2003 where he oversees all Committee matters relating to Federal elections and campaign finance. Prior to that, he was a Policy Analyst for Common Cause, a non-profit, public advocacy organization working in support of election and campaign finance reform. He also previously served as a Special Assistant in the Office of Congressional Relations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and his B.A. in Government from Clark University (Worcester, MA).