Former New Hampshire Sen. John E. Sununu made waves after he joined the congressional panel overseeing the bailout, but he has caused barely a ripple since leaving.
Sununu, appointed to the panel last December by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, resigned in August. There was no official announcement of his departure, although panel chair Elizabeth Warren sent out a press release welcoming his replacement, former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins.
Sununu’s presence on the board was controversial. In March, he was named to the board of ConvergEx Holdings, an affiliate of Bank of New York Mellon, which received bailout money. When critics accused him of having a conflict of interest, Sununu answered that ConvergEx was an independent company ineligible for federal funds.
John E. Sununu
With each report on the bailout, Sununu played the role of dissenting justice. He wrote separately, criticizing the panel for wandering beyond its core mission. It should focus on the effectiveness of the Treasury’s actions, rather than considering alternative strategies, he said.
The pattern repeated with each oversight report until August, when he left.
Sununu, of course, was a Republican suffering Democratic rule.
Before being elected to the Senate in 2002, he served three terms in the House. His father, John H. Sununu, was chief of staff to President George H.W. Bush and governor of New Hampshire. The elder Sununu now leads the state Republican Party.
Since leaving the Senate, the younger Sununu has found a place in the corporate world. He is a director of Time Warner Cable and Boston Scientific. He joined both boards during his tenure on the oversight panel.
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