President Barack Obama listens to Sen. Judd Gregg, left, a New Hampshire Republican, speak, after the president announced Gregg as his choice for commerce secretary, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democrats have complained that Republican Sen. Judd Gregg is too pro-business, but the former tax lawyer is also known as a cool-headed and stubborn negotiator willing to break ranks with his party if need be.
Gregg, a key player in devising the $700 billion banking bailout package in the fall, is the only person ever elected senator, congressman, governor and executive councilor in New Hampshire. Now he's in the running to add another title to his long resume: commerce secretary.
If confirmed by the Senate, he would be tasked with helping President Barack Obama steer the nation out of the recession.
"The people who have worked with Judd will tell you, whether they were working with him or against him, that he's smart; he tends to be very disciplined in approaching a problem," said former GOP Sen. John Sununu.
A month after defeating Sununu in November, New Hampshire Democrats sent out a news release in which state party Chairman Raymond Buckley accused Gregg of being George W. Bush's "top enabler" in the Senate and predicting he would be held accountable for the failed economy, the war in Iraq and "the entire Bush tenure."
Then, after Gregg expressed skepticism about bailing out the auto industry, Buckley accused him of hypocrisy, saying, "Just months after selling the bailout to the American people, the so-called Judd the Great has now decided to abandon them instead." Gregg eventually voted to stop progress on the auto bailout.
But Buckley changed his tune when the prospect of Gregg leaving the Senate enhanced Democratic chances for victory next year; Gregg's replacement would serve the remaining two years of his term but not run for the seat in the 2010 election.
"If (President Obama) determines that Sen. Gregg is essential to his effort to rebuild America's economy, then we should trust his judgment and support his decision," Buckley said Monday.
Despite his long, close ties to the Bush family, Gregg has bucked his party on some issues. He opposed Bush's 2005 energy bill, voted against a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and has supported embryonic stem cell research.
He also has found himself at the center of floor fights in Congress.
Last year, he slowed action on the Democrats' first two major pieces of legislation, ethics reform and a minimum-wage increase. He later helped block debate on a Democratic measure opposing the president's troop increase in Iraq.
Those efforts had Democratic Leader Harry Reid likening Gregg to a basketball player sent into a game to throw elbows and rough up opposing players.
Obama apparently wants to use those elbows on his team. On Friday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs joked that Gregg might join the president, his aides and advisers on the basketball court.
"Sen. Gregg looks like he might have an inside game," Gibbs said.
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