The “czars” don’t wield independent authority.
… on the “czars” pseudo-flap.
Short version: None of the people in question have actual authority to do anything. All such authority is wielded by Senate-confirmed officials.  The “czars” are advisers, and there is no doubt about the President’s authority to hire advisers.
Fearless prediction: the fact that the charges have been completely debunked won’t have any effect on the folks trying to whip up hysteria.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
Who are these anti-czarist "folks"? Are they Bolsheviks or Mensheviks? I feel really out of the loop here.