WASHINGTON—Now that America has selected Barack Obama as the next president, the question on people’s minds is who he will select for his cabinet and key staff positions.
Talk began on Wednesday about who the Chief of Staff would be, and on Thursday it was confirmed; Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Illinois will take the position as Obama’s right hand man.
On Friday, Obama will hold his first press event since being elected, where he expected to formalize the Emanuel appointment and several others. Emanuel served as an adviser to Bill Clinton before running for office himself. He has earned a fierce reputation in the House of Representatives and is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Republicans have criticized the pick, saying that Emanuel is overly partisan; Obama defending his choice. “No one I know is better at getting things done than Rahm Emanuel,” Obama said in a statement announcing the selection.
A less surprising announcement came late on Thursday, that Robert Gibbs would likely be the next Press Secretary. Gibbs has worked with Obama since his Senatorial run, and has been an important part of the presidential campaign.
The Treasury Secretary could be the most important appointment that the newly elected president-to-be will make before he takes office. The economy is the top issue in the country and the Treasury Secretary will play a decisive role in how the next administration handles it.
The two most widely rumored individuals for the job are Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, and Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary under President Clinton. Geithner has been working directly with current Treasury Secretary Paulson on the Wall Street bailout, and might make for a more seamless transition between the administrations, but at 47 years old some question his experience.
For Secretary of State, there are still a handful of hats in the pool. Potential selections include Gov. Bill Richardson, a veteran diplomat who ran against Obama in the primaries; Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Senator John Kerry, member of the Senate foreign relations committee and long-time friend of Joe Biden, Senator Chris Dodd, who ran against Obama in the primaries.
Senator Richard Lugar had also been widely rumored for the job, but the 76 year-old statesman from Indiana has been dismissive of the idea.
It is likely that Defense Secretary Robert Gates will maintain his role in the next administration, a decision that would help Obama keep his word on appointing a bi-partisan cabinet.
Obama’s choices for the top positions have to all be weighed very carefully. He wants to bring change to Washington, but given the state of the economy and the ongoing wars, he also has to find experienced individuals. The majority of experienced Democrats have served in the Clinton administration, and the President-elect Obama doesn’t just want to reinstate the administration of a decade ago. These cabinet positions can serve to heal the wounds of a bloody campaign battle, but they will also need to be more than political choices.
The job for the next president and his team will be incredibly challenging, and who Obama surrounds himself with will an important indicator of how he plans to handle those challenges.
