Sen. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State choice (Courtesy Photo)
By Alan King
AFRO Staff Writer
(November 30, 2008) -- Days after the terror attack in India that killed nearly 200 people and injured 300, President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name his national security team on Monday.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is still on track for the top diplomatic post, secretary of state. The New York Times reports that President Bill Clinton’s agreement to disclose the names of more than 200,000 donors to his foundation helped clear the way for his wife to serve at State.
It’s also widely speculated that the current Defense secretary, Robert Gates, will remain in his position for an interim period for the sake of continuity.
Retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander, appears to be the top contender for national security adviser.
And Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is the likely Homeland Security secretary.
Obama’s expected unveiling of his national security team follows his announcement last week of his top economic advisers, a move many analysts felt was necessary to instill confidence among skittish investors, bankers and financiers at home and abroad.
The economic team includes some of the most powerful names in the financial world: New York Federal Reserve Bank president Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary; Lawrence Summers as chair of the National Economic Council; former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker as head of a reconstituted President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board; and Melody Barnes as director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
Melody Barnes, Director, White House Domestic Policy Council (Courtesy Photo)
Obama has also named two other key additions to his staff -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce secretary; and Desiree Rogers as the White House social secretary.
Gov. Bill Richardson, Secretary of Commerce (Courtesy Photo)
With the appointment of Richardson, Obama added a prominent Hispanic and former Democratic rival to his expanding cabinet. In the Clinton administration, Richardson served as U.N. ambassador and later Energy secretary.
Just as significant is Rogers, an accomplished businesswoman and Harvard University MBA, who will serve as the White House social secretary for the Obamas, her close friends. "I cringe when I hear 'just the party planner,’” she told the Associated Press.
Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary (Courtesy Photo)
Now president of social networking at Allstate Financial, she previously was president of the Chicago-area natural gas utilities People Gas and North Shore Gas, and she has served as director of the Illinois Lottery. Her civic work includes serving on boards for Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry and helping Chicago with its 2016 Summer Olympics bid.
Rogers will be the first African American to hold the job.
Other Obama cabinet selections over the last two weeks – confirmed and unconfirmed – include Eric Holder as Obama's choice for attorney general; he held the No. 2 slot in the Justice Department in the Clinton administration. And former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota as Health and Human Services secretary.