One of the first and most important chores a new president faces upon moving into the White House is to clean out the old President's Cabinet and build a new one. Cabinet agency secretaries, while representing only 15 of the thousands of presidentially-appointed jobs to be filled during any presidential transition, are the most visible to the public and pose the most potential for controversy. While they serve completely at the pleasure of the president, Cabinet agency secretary nominees are among the approximately 1000 presidentially-appointed positions requiring the approval of the Senate.
President-elect Obama has rolled up his sleeves and gotten to work on his Cabinet. Here, in order of presidential succession, is how the job is going:
Department of State
Incumbent: Condoleezza Rice
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Hillary Clinton -- U.S. Senator from New York
Bill Richardson -- Governor of New Mexico
John Kerry -- U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
Obama's Nominee: Hillary Clinton -- U.S. Senator from New York (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Treasury
Incumbent: Henry Paulson
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Timothy Geithner -- head of the New York Federal Reserve
Henry Paulson -- Secretary of Treasury
Lawrence Summers -- Treasury Secretary under Clinton
Obama's Nominee: Timothy Geithner -- head of the New York Federal Reserve
Department of Defense
Incumbent: Robert M. Gates
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Robert M. Gates -- Sec. of Defense (for an interim period)
Richard Danzig -- Sec. of the Navy under Clinton
Sam Nunn -- former Senator from Georgia
Wesley Clark -- former commander of NATO
Obama's Nominee: Robert M. Gates -- Current Sec. of Defense
Department of Justice (Attorney General)
Incumbent: Michael Mukasey
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Eric Holder -- a U.S. attorney under Clinton
Artur Davis -- U.S. Congressman from Alabama
Janet Napolitano -- Governor of Arizona
Obama's Nominee: Eric Holder -- a U.S. attorney under Clinton
Department of Interior
Incumbent: Dirk Kempthorne
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Norm Dicks -- U.S. Congressman from Washington State
George Miller -- U.S. Congressman from California
Obama's Nominee: Ken Salazar -- U.S. Senator from Colorado (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Agriculture
Incumbent: Ed Schafer
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Brian Schweitzer -- Governor of Montana and a rancher
Obama's Nominee: Tom Vilsack -- former Governor of Iowa (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Commerce
Incumbent: Carlos Gutierrez
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Bill Richardson -- Governor of New Mexico
Bill Daley -- Sec. of Commerce under Clinton
Obama's Nominee: Gary Locke -- former Governor of Washington
Department of Labor
Incumbent: Elaine Chao
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Kathleen Sebelius -- Governor of Kansas
Dick Gephardt -- former Democratic House leader
Obama's Nominee: Hilda Solis -- US Representative (D) California
Department of Health and Human Services
Incumbent: Michael Leavitt
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Hillary Clinton -- U.S. Senator from New York
Obama's Nominee: Kathleen Sebelius -- Governor of Kansas
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Incumbent: Steve Preston
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Tony Williams -- former mayor of Washington, D.C.
Dennis Archer -- former mayor of Detroit
Obama's Nominee: Shaun Donovan -- former New York City housing commissioner
Department of Transportation
Incumbent: Mary Peters
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
James Oberstar -- chairman of the House Transportation Committee
Obama's Nominee: Ray LaHood -- US Representative (R, Illinois)
Department of Energy
Incumbent: Samuel W. Bodman
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Ed Markey -- U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts
Bill Richardson -- Governor of New Mexico
Obama's Nominee: Steven Chu - winner of Nobel Prize for physics in 1997 (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Education
Incumbent: Margaret Spellings
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Joel Klein -- chancellor of New York public schools
Obama's Nominee: Arne Duncan -- Chicago schools superintendent (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Veterans Affairs
Incumbent: Dr. James B. Peake
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
James Webb -- U.S. Senator from Virginia
Max Cleland -- U.S. Senator from Georgia
Obama's Nominee: Gen. Eric Shinseki (retired) -- Chief of Staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003 (Confirmed by Senate)
Department of Homeland Security
Incumbent: Michael Chertoff
The Buzz: (mentioned as possible nominees)
Chuck Hagel -- U.S. Senator from Nebraska
Richard Lugar -- U.S. Senator from Indiana
Obama's Nominee: Janet Napolitano -- Governor of Arizona (Confirmed by Senate)
More About the Cabinet
Why is it called "cabinet?" When did it first meet? How much do the secretaries make, who picks them and how long do they serve?
