Washington - President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday
unveiled who will develop his key policy priorities during the
transition as US media speculated on his potential cabinet picks for
health, justice and the top US diplomat.
Former president Bill Clinton has opened up his books to the Obama
transition team in an effort to pave the way for his wife Hillary
Clinton to get the job of secretary of state, the Wall Street Journal
reported.
Clinton has travelled around the world and raised millions for his
charitable foundation since leaving the presidency in 2001. His
financial dealings were being investigated by Obama's people to
ensure no conflicts of interest if Hillary Clinton were to head the
State Department.
Tom Daschle, a former Senate majority leader and co-chair of
Obama's presidential campaign, has been given the job of health and
human services secretary, CNN reported Wednesday.
Daschle is known as a passionate advocate for health care reform,
which is likely to be one of Obama's top domestic priorities in 2009.
On Tuesday, media reported the position of attorney general had
been offered to Eric Holder, who would become the first African
American to lead the Justice Department. Holder was deputy attorney
general under Clinton.
Obama faces an economy in crisis and the first wartime transition
in the United States since Vietnam, forcing him to quickly put a team
in place ahead of his inauguration January 20.
Obama said in an interview with CBS News on Sunday that he will
soon begin naming cabinet positions - but no names have been unveiled
to date.
Clinton, Holder and Daschle were going through an extensive
vetting process before they are formally announced. All cabinet
positions will also have to be confirmed by the US Senate.
Few details are available about Obama's pick for Treasury
secretary, possibly his most important choice as the US faces a
financial sector threatened with collapse. Names floated include
Larry Summers, who was Treasury secretary under Clinton, and New York
Federal Reserve Chairman Timothy Geithner.
Obama's office did issue details Wednesday on who would be
directing policy in various key areas during the transition phase, a
sign of who may get some of the top jobs in an Obama administration.
Daschle was tapped to develop policy on health care, while
Georgetown law professor Daniel Tarullo will lead economic policy.
Tarullo worked in the Clinton administration and may join the White
House Council of Economic Advisors, a group of three individuals that
advise the president on economic issues.
James Steinberg and Susan Rice will direct national security
policy during the transition. Both worked in the State Department in
the 1990s and have been mentioned as possible national security
advisors, the top foreign policy position in the White House.
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