Official: Richardson to be commerce secretary
A Democratic official says President-elect Barack Obama will name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.
The official says Obama plans to announce Richardson's selection after Thanksgiving. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations.
Richardson was energy secretary and U.N. ambassador under President Bill Clinton. Richardson would be the most visible Hispanic named to Obama's Cabinet.
Richardson dropped out of the Democratic presidential contest in January and endorsed Obama.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
President-elect Barack Obama has picked or is considering an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic and transition officials. They include: TREASURY SECRETARY
Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
---
SECRETARY OF STATE
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., former first lady and one-time rival of Obama's for the Democratic presidential nomination.
---
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.
---
DEFENSE SECRETARY
Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee.
John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary, now president of Center for Strategic and International Studies.
---
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
---
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY
Gov. Janet Napolitano, D-Ariz..
---
CIA DIRECTOR
John Brennan, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center
---
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR
Former Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., and member of the Sept. 11 commission.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., who heads the House Homeland Security subcommittee on intelligence.
Don Kerr, No. 2 official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Jami Miscik, former head of CIA's analytical operations.
---
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
Retired Marine Gen. James Jones.
James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser.
---
ENERGY SECRETARY
Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, former assistant energy secretary in charge of efficiency and renewable energy programs in the Clinton administration.
Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. D-Kan.
---
INTERIOR SECRETARY
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber, D-Ore.
Former Gov. Tony Knowles, D-Alaska.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif.
---
EPA ADMINISTRATOR
Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.
Kathleen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
---
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz.
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C.
Renee Glover, head of Atlanta's housing authority
Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies
Shaun Donovan, commissioner of New York City's housing department.
Adolfo CarriDon Jr., Bronx borough president
---
LABOR SECRETARY
Ed McElroy, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
Former Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo.
Linda Chavez-Thompson, former AFL-CIO vice president
Former Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., member of Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Maria Echaveste, former Clinton White House adviser.
---
COMMERCE SECRETARY
Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.
---
NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR
Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary.
---
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DIRECTOR
Peter Orszag, director of Congressional Budget Office.
---
EDUCATION SECRETARY
Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.
Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent.
Sebelius.
Linda Darling-Hammond, education professor at Stanford University.
---
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY
Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.
Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.
Gephardt.
Sebelius.
---
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY
Former Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa.
Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union.
Former Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas.
---
VETERANS AFFAIRS
Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraq war veteran and Illinois veterans affairs director.
Former Sen. Max Cleland. D-Ga., a Vietnam veteran who had three limbs amputated after a grenade blast.
Current VA Secretary James Peake.
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, D-Md.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
