Asian Carp Crisis: Where's Chief of Staff Emmanuel?

The Asian Carp crisis continues to mushroom with scientific evidence now showing that the carp are in Lake Michigan while the executive branch still refuses to close the locks. There was no help yesterday from the Supreme Court as they declined to order the locks closed.

With the executive branch (Army Corps, USEPA, et al) now having clear ownership of the problem and solution, there's one piece, actually a person, missing from the debate and discussion.

That is White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel.

Emmanuel, until last year, was a Chicago congressman who represented a lakefront district and was one of the "champions" of the Great Lakes. He had a stump speech that included the line "the Great Lakes are our Grand Canyon" with hands off being the implication.

Emmanuel as a congressman was powerful and influential and weighed in on about anything of interest to him. As White House chief of staff, he now has more power and influence. And his executive branch is calling the shots on the carp crisis.

I know, he has a lot on his plate as chief of staff and carp aren't his highest priority. I get that.

But he must have some thoughts on the crisis. Is he pulling levers behind the scenes? Or are Asian Carp beneath his noise level now?

It would be interesting to hear from Emmanuel as Asian Carp are on the verge of moving in to his "Grand Canyon."

gw