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Two of the Romanov czars. (There were 18 of them; they did not have a Stimulus Accountability Czar.) Two of the Romanov czars. (There were 18 of them; they did not have a Stimulus Accountability Czar.)

Two of the Romanov czars. (There were 18 of them; they did not have a Stimulus Accountability Czar.)

Robert Farley
By Robert Farley June 12, 2009

How many czars does it take to run the federal government? More and more, it seems.

In a Twitter message on May 30, 2009, Sen. John McCain took this poke at the Obama administration:

"Obama has more czars than the Romanovs — who ruled Russia for 3 centuries. Romanovs 18, cyberczar makes 20."

First of all, yes, John McCain — the guy criticized during the presidential campaign for being computer illiterate — is tweeting.

But what about the czars? It sure seems like we keep reading about one czar after another being appointed to oversee the auto industry, the Great Lakes, and the closure of Gitmo, and we wondered: Just how many czars does the Obama administration actually have?

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We did the math and checked the history. You'll find our report — and a list of the Obama czars — here .

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The Czar Administration