Although President-elect Barack Obama has made few official announcements (today was the first) about his choices for Cabinet positions, at least six of the major posts likely have been decided, according to news reports last week that almost invariably cited anonymous sources. This morning, Obama announced his choice for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. He's relatively young at 47, but has good experience:
He played a pivotal role in the intense negotiations which took place before Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, and also helped forge the deals involving AIG and JP Morgan.
A proponent of major reform in the financial system in order to avoid further turbulence, he is no stranger to the Treasury, where he served as under-secretary for international affairs towards the end of the Clinton administration.
According to a report in the New York Times last week, Hillary Clinton has decided to accept the Secretary of State Position:
The role, though a supporting one, would make her one of the most influential players on the international stage, and it would represent at least one more act for one of the nation’s most prominent public families, as former President Bill Clinton would also become an ad hoc member of the Obama team.
Other Cabinet posts: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who lost to Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, will be named Commerce secretary. Eric Holder, who served as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration, will be Attorney General, former Democratic Senate Minority leader Tom Daschle is expected to be named Health & Human Services secretary, and Arizona governor Janet Napolitano will be tapped for Homeland Security secretary. All in all it looks like Obama is assembling a very experienced and competent set of advisors. This is a team that can definitely hit the ground running.
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