Before Gregg withdrew his nomination, he was ridiculed by many for having favored the abolition of the Commerce Department.
Yet is this really a bad idea?
The Commerce Department is truly a hodge-podge. To some extent, most cabinet departments are. But Commerce seems especially bad. It includes the Patent Office and the Census Bureau. It includes NOAA. And it includes several agencies dedicated to statistical gathering and promoting small business (but not the SBA).
It seems to me as if most of these agencies could be put under other departments (Treasury, Labor, Justice, Interior or the EPA for the NOAA). Others could simply be made into free-standing agencies, as the SBA and EPA are, for example.
Moreover, the position of Secretary of Commerce has basically been a patronage position for years. What Secretary of Commerce has had a major role in policy or legislation over the past few decades? The last high-profile Commerce Secretary was Henry Wallace, who got the job as a demotion (from Vice President).
Seriously - why not just abolish the Department? Am I missing something? Please tell me if I'm wrong and why.