The Keys To Succession

As we noted in yesterday's roundup, the selection of AZ Governor Janet Napolitano for Homeland Security Secretary will elevate Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer to the Grand Canyon State's Governor's condo.

Mike Memoli, filling in for Ambinder, has an exhaustive and fascinating look at some other potential Obama appointees whose selection could lead to party-changes in Governorships and Senate seats.

The Democratic Governors of Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia would have Republican successors, and if Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed gets a political appointment, GOP Gov. Don Carcieri would select his replacement. But if one of Maine's moderate Republican Senators is tapped for a cabinet job, the Democrats could gain a seat with an appointment from Gov. John Baldacci...which would be huge if the Dems get to 59 with an Al Franken or Jim Martin Senate victory (and could be a potential reason for Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe to pass on an appointment offer).

-- Evie Stone

5:15 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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More White House Staff Announcements

From the transition office:

President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden Announce Key White House Staff

WASHINGTON -- President-Elect Obama and Vice President-Elect Biden today announced the following White House staff: Patrick Gaspard, Director of the Office of Political Affairs; Jackie Norris, Chief of Staff to First Lady; Catherine (Cathy) M. Russell, Chief of Staff for Dr. Jill Biden; Cynthia Hogan, Counsel to the Vice President; and Moises (Moe) V. Vela, Jr., Director of Administration for the Office of the Vice President.

President-Elect Barack Obama said, "This group of public servants will bring decades of expertise to my administration, and I'll rely on their counsel and hard work as we fix our struggling economy and meet the great challenges of our time. Vice President-Elect Biden and I look forward to continuing our work with these outstanding individuals who have dedicated their careers to a better America."

Vice President-Elect Joe Biden said, "These individuals all possess incredible integrity and an unmatched commitment to public service. Cathy Russell has a unique blend of policy and management experience, combined with an ardent commitment to ending injustices around the world. Cynthia Hogan is a brilliant lawyer who was instrumental in guiding the Senate Judiciary Committee though some of its most important challenges in both crime control and judicial selection, and has shown incredible legal acumen and integrity over her career. I'm grateful to have Moe Vela, a man with experience in White House management and broad outreach skills on my team. Their combined experience, diverse leadership and esteemed counsel will be essential in helping the Obama-Biden Administration bring the change we need to America."

Bios after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

Continue reading "More White House Staff Announcements" »

4:56 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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Clinton, Geithner, Richardson Tapped For Cabinet Posts

A source close to the Obama transition team's decision making process has confirmed to NPR's Juan Williams that New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner has accepted an offer to serve as Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has been selected to head the Commerce Department. Both appointments will be announced on Monday.

The transition team will announce after Thanksgiving that Senator Hillary Clinton has accepted an offer to be Secretary of State.

-- Evie Stone

4:17 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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NYT: Clinton Will Accept State Offer

The New York Times is reporting that Hillary Clinton is prepared to accept an offer to serve as Secretary of State in the Obama administration. News organizations have breathlessly followed Clinton's leaked indecision on the matter -- as well as the behind-the-scenes negotiations of her vetting process, which included thorough investigations of her husband's post-presidential activities:

People close to the vetting said Mr. Clinton turned over the names of 208,000 donors to his foundation and library and agreed to all of the conditions requested by Mr. Obama's transition team, including restrictions on his future paid speeches and role at his international foundation.

-- Evie Stone

3:15 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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Leaks Spring Eternal

The Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Chris "The Fix" Cillizza take a look at the Obama operation's switch from airtight campaign to transition leakfest:

"There is nothing they can do about it -- vetting and FBI background checks require a lot of calls, and that leads to leaks," explained Steve Elmendorf, a longtime aide to former House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) and now a lobbyist in Washington.

And unlike in a campaign, there is now simply more information to disseminate and more outlets chasing the ever-elusive scoop. "It's the era of the Internet; what do you expect?" joked a former Clinton White House senior adviser who is not involved in the transition process.

Luckily for the Obama camp, most of the names floated thusfar have been seemingly well-received -- with the exception most notably of campaign finance chair (and Hyatt hotel heiress) Penny Pritzker, who took herself out of the running for Commerce Secretary yesterday when it became clear that her business entanglements would create problems in the confirmation process.

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: Another wave-making potential appointment...John Brennan as CIA director. Not a popular choice among the netroots left given his ties to the George Tenet legacy.

1:07 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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Pritzker Says She's Not Heading To Commerce

In an email to Lynn Sweet, Obama campaign finance chair Penny Pritzker says that -- contrary to rumor -- she is not a candidate for Secretary of Commerce.

-- Evie Stone

2:07 PM ET | 11-20-2008 | permalink

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More WH Staff Announcements

The Obama transition team says Obama campaign chief strategist David Axelrod will accompany the President-elect to the White House as a Senior Adviser. Other appointments announced today include Lisa Brown as Staff Secretary, Greg Craig as White House Counsel, and Chris Lu as Cabinet Secretary.

The full release (with bios) is after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

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5:09 PM ET | 11-19-2008 | permalink

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Daschle Accepts Offer To Head HHS

NPR has confirmed the report that Tom Daschle has accepted an offer to serve as Barack Obama's Secretary of Health and Human Sevices. In that post, Daschle will be at the center of President-elect Obama's promised effort to provide health coverage to all Americans.

Daschle served three terms as a Senator from South Dakota after four terms as that state's lone Congressman. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 1995-2005, except for the period between June 2001 and January 2003 -- during that chunk of the 107th Congress, the Senate majority changed hands when Vermont's Jim Jeffords left the GOP to become an Independent and caucus with the Democrats. (Republican victories in the 2002 midterms put the Senate majority back in GOP hands.) Daschle lost his re-election bid to John Thune in 2004.

Since losing his Senate seat, Daschle has taken a particular interest in the nation's troubled health care system. His book, Critical: What We Can Do About The Health Care Crisis, came out in February. Daschle was one of Barack Obama's earliest supporters in his presidential bid, and was a key campaign adviser on health care issues, despite the rhetorical difference between the men on how to achieve "universal" coverage. Daschle's book argues for mandated coverage, which Obama argued against during his primary sparring matches with mandate-supporter Hillary Clinton.

Before the appointment is formally announced, transition officials will have to complete their vetting of Daschle. One area of particular interest will be his wife's career; Linda Hall Daschle is a prominent lobbyist for the aviation industry.

-- Evie Stone

1:18 PM ET | 11-19-2008 | permalink

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Holder Has Accepted AG Offer

NPR has confirmed NBC's report that Eric Holder has accepted an offer to serve as Attorney General in the Obama administration, pending a formal vetting process and approval by "key Senators".

Holder served as Deputy Attorney General and briefly as Acting AG during the Clinton administration. Before that he was DC's US Attorney and a superior court judge. He also co-chaired Obama's running-mate search committee with Caroline Kennedy. If those "key Senators" sign off and Holder's nomination is confirmed by the Senate, he will be the nation's first African-American Attorney General.

One blemish on Holder's record that could complicate the confirmation process dates back to the final days of the Clinton Administration. Holder was serving as Acting AG after Janet Reno had departed the job, and he approved a presidential pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich without taking a careful look at Rich's case. The pardon stirred up such a maelstrom -- Congressional hearings, media frenzy, a criminal investigation -- that the Washington Post quoted Holder at the time saying "I'm done. Public life's over for me."

The AP says transition officials have been testing Holder's name on the Hill and have been told that the Rich pardon won't torpedo Holder's chances.

The story was first reported by Newsweek's Michael Isikoff.

-- Evie Stone

4:07 PM ET | 11-18-2008 | permalink

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Joint Statement From Obama And McCain

Joint statement from President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Senator John McCain, following their meeting in Chicago today:

At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time. It is in this spirit that we had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington in order to restore trust in government, and bring back prosperity and opportunity for every hardworking American family. We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation's security.

-- Evie Stone

1:45 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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We Meet Again

Ken Bazinet of the NYDN furnishes news-hungry journos with a pool report on the brief photo spray that preceded the Obama-McCain meeting today (also including wing-men Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Lindsey Graham):

Asked about the goal of the meeting, Mr. Obama said, "We're going to have a good conversation about how we can do some work together to fix up the country, and also to offer thanks to Sen. McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered."

Sen. McCain was asked whether he would help Mr. Obama with his administration, and he responded, "Obviously."

Your pool tried to get the President-elect to answer a question on the auto industry bail out, but was shouted down by the pool sherpas. Mr. Obama finally said with a smile, "You're incorrigible."

Sitting around a coffee table, with three U.S. flags behind them, were: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), President-elect Barack Obama and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the chief-of-staff-designate.

-- Evie Stone

1:15 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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Failure To Communicate

The NYT's Jeff Zeleny reports that President-elect Obama will likely be required to give up his well-worn Blackberry and email account when he takes office in January -- ending an era of frequent thumb-typed correspondence that was reportedly "generally crisp, properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons." Zeleny explains:

In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful.

There is some debate over giving Obama "read-only" access to a Berry, though that may not be tenable either. But the President-elect does apparently plan to usher the Oval Office into the late-20th century by keeping a laptop on his desk there.

-- Evie Stone

12:14 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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More Transition Folk Announced

The Obama transition team reveals another slew of names of luminaries that have been appointed to review the budgetary, personnel, and strategic situations at government agencies to prepare for the impending turnover. Most are behind-the-scenes type policy Dems, not names of the household variety -- unless your household happens to be in Georgetown. We're told the teams "will begin their efforts today".

-- Evie Stone

2:53 PM ET | 11-14-2008 | permalink

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Agency Review Leaders For State, Treasury, Defense

The latest press release from the transition team lists the overseers of a few key agency handovers:

WASHINGTON -- The Obama-Biden Transition Team today announced the Agency Review Team leads for the Deperatment of Treasury, Department of State, and Department of Defense. The Obama-Biden Transition Team also announced the Agency Review Team co-chairs, who will oversee the entire review process, as well as the Agency Review Working Group, which will manage and review the Teams' work and coordinate with other transition teams, including those handling personnel, policy and the budget.

The Agency Review Teams will complete a thorough review of key departments, agencies and commissions of the United States government, as well as the White House, to provide the President-elect, Vice President-elect, and key advisors with information needed to make strategic policy, budgetary, and personnel decisions prior to the inauguration. The Teams will begin their efforts by the end of the week, and will ensure that senior appointees have the information necessary to complete the confirmation process, lead their departments, and begin implementing signature policy initiatives immediately after they are sworn in.

Names and bios after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

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4:42 PM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Bidens To Tour VP Residence Tomorrow

A transition press release announces:

The Vice President-elect and Dr. Jill Biden have been invited by Vice President Cheney and his wife Lynne to the Naval Observatory on Thursday at 5:15pm for a private meeting and tour of the residence...An official photo of the Bidens and Cheneys will be released following the meeting.

Another reminder that despite the political differences between the outgoing and incoming administrations, this is a country that transfers power peacefully and according to the will of the voters.

-- Evie Stone

3:13 PM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Obama Skips G-20, But Sends Emissaries

Members of the G-20 are descending on Washington for an emergency economic summit called by President Bush. But the guy they will be working with for the next four years has opted to stay in Chicago for the week. Via the NYT:

Foreign affairs veterans said Mr. Obama was trying to play it safe and avoid being forced to take positions on matters he is not authorized to decide, much less take ownership for the problems and decisions of Mr. Bush.

There is also the danger of Obama's being put on the spot to opine about a policy area where he and President Bush disagree.

President-elect Obama has not been living in a diplomacy bubble since his election; in fact, he's been busily returning congratulatory phone calls with world leaders since last week's victory (yesterday's call list included the Presidents of Brazil and Kenya; the Prime Minister of India; the King of Jordan; and Pope Benedict XVI). But Obama's transition team, sticking to their "one President at a time" message, is steering him clear of official, in-person meetings with foreign heads of state for the time being.

That's not to say the Obama forces are ignoring this opportunity to make contact with some of the world's most influential governments during their visit to the U.S. The Obama transition team announced today that the President- and VP-elect are making available the bipartisan duo of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Iowa Congressman Jim Leach (a moderate Republican who supported Obama in the general election and spoke at this year's Democratic convention) to have "unofficial meetings to seek input from visiting delegations" on the incoming administration's behalf.

In a release from the transition communications squad, senior foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said:

This weekend's summit is an important opportunity to hear from the leaders of many of the world's largest economies. President Bush should be commended for calling the summit. There is one President at a time in the United States, so the President-elect has asked Secretary Albright and Congressman Leach, an experienced and bipartisan team, to be available meet with and listen to our friends and allies on his behalf.

Obama and Biden will receive a briefing from Albright and Leach after the meetings.

-- Evie Stone

12:00 PM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Obama's First Post-Election Press Conference

Not a terribly newsy first newser from our President-elect. Obama emphasized that "the country only has one President at a time" and he won't be trying to step on President Bush's toes. He also reminded the audience that "it is not going to be quick and it is not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole that we are in." But he expressed certainty that it can happen if politicians put aside partisanship and get to work.

As for priorities, Obama cited the October job losses as evidence that a second stimulus package is needed -- he vowed that if a second stimulus isn't passed during the lame-duck session it "will be the first thing I get done as President of the United States". He said his team would review the current administration's implementation of this summer's bailout package to make sure that it's being implemented as effectively as possible.

Asked about a letter of congratulations he received from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Obama took a sober tone. He repeated his long-held position that "Iran's development of a nuclear weapon...is unacceptable. And we have to mount an international effort to stop that from happening." He decried that nation's "support of terrorist organizations," adding that his administration's Iran policy will not be hastily crafted, and he will not make any diplomatic moves until he is sworn in January 20th.

Obama also said he won't rush to fill his cabinet, so that he can be sure he's making the right choices. He told the reporters he had consulted former (living) Presidents Carter and Clinton and both Bushes for advice on his new job, but joked that he "didn't want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances".

Maybe the most eagerly-awaited news of the availability regarded the Obama family's plans to get a dog when they move to the White House. Obama said the family would prefer a shelter dog, but given Malia's allergies they might not be able to go that route (because "a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me"). He called the dog choice "a pressing issue on the Obama household."

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: You can hear the whole thing here:

UPDATE: Obama Transition Team Spokesperson Stephanie Cutter has announced that the president-elect called Nancy Reagan after the press conference to apologize for his "careless and off-handed remark" about seances. She added that they had a "warm conversation."

3:32 PM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Obama's Prepared Remarks On The Economy

Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama

Press Avail on the Economy
Thursday, November 7th, 2008
Chicago, Illinois

This morning, we woke to more sobering news about the state of our economy. The 240,000 jobs lost in October marks the 10th consecutive month that our economy has shed jobs. In total, we've lost nearly 1.2 million jobs this year, and more than 10 million Americans are now unemployed. Tens of millions of families are struggling to figure out how to pay the bills and stay in their homes. Their stories are an urgent reminder that we are facing the greatest economic challenge of our lifetime, and we must act swiftly to resolve them.

The United States has only one government and one President, and until January 20th of next year, that government is the current Administration. I have spoken to President Bush, and I appreciate his commitment to ensuring that his economic policy team keeps us fully informed as developments unfold.

Immediately after I become President, I will confront this economic crisis head-on by taking all necessary steps to ease the credit crisis, help hardworking families, and restore growth and prosperity.

This morning, I met with members of my Transition Economic Advisory Board, who will help guide the work of my transition team in developing a strong set of policies to respond to this crisis. We discussed several of the most immediate challenges facing our economy and key priorities on which to focus on in the days and weeks ahead:

Continue reading "Obama's Prepared Remarks On The Economy" »

2:59 PM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Assigned Seats At The Economic Advisory Board Meeting

While we wait for Obama's first press conference as President-elect...his press office emails this "seating chart" from the meeting with the Transition Economic Advisory Board.

(Click to Enlarge)

 

Our Thomas Pierce points out that the phone-bridge for Warren Buffet is missing from the picture. How are we supposed to tea-leaf his relative influence without it?!

-- Evie Stone

UPDATE: Standing order during the presser is after the jump.

Continue reading "Assigned Seats At The Economic Advisory Board Meeting" »

2:42 PM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Obama Economy Presser Tomorrow

The Obama forces announce that the President- and VP-elect will meet with their "Transition Economic Advisory Board" tomorrow. A press conference will follow.

The members of that advisory board, via the release, are after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

Continue reading "Obama Economy Presser Tomorrow" »

3:12 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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Emanuel Will Be WH Chief Of Staff

Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel has accepted the position of chief of staff in the Obama administration. Emanuel, a veteran of the Clinton White House, was first elected to Congress in 2002. He chaired the DCCC during the party's successful 2006 election cycle and has served as chairman of the Democratic caucus for the past two years.

Emanuel has an excellent relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, so his appointment will give the administration a leg up as it works to influence Congress. (Ken Rudin notes that it also takes him "out of the hunt to eventually succeed Pelosi as Speaker".) And he knows how the White House works, having served as a high level aide under President Clinton.

But the choice also comes with some risks. Emanuel is a policy centrist, but he's an enthusiastic partisan, and has earned a reputation as a hothead butt-kicker with a serious potty mouth (the Chicago Tribune describes him as a "Democratic political assassin"; some of his colleagues refer to him as "Rahmbo"). His fiery nature could complement Obama's cool demeanor -- or it could conflict with the President-elect's style and alienate Republicans whose support the White House will need as it pushes its legislative agenda.

The move suggests a return to prominence for the chief of staff position, both in terms of influence and public visibility; Emanuel is a well-known public figure and a Sunday talk show pro. Bush chiefs Andy Card and Josh Bolten seemed to lag behind Dick Cheney and Karl Rove in both notoriety and authority.

-- Evie Stone

1:14 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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Obama Announces Transition Team

From the Obama offices in Chicago:

For the past several months, a board of advisors has been informally planning for a possible presidential transition. Among the many projects undertaken by the transition board have been detailed analyses of previous transition efforts, policy statements made during the campaign, and the workings of federal government agencies, and priority positions that must be filled by the incoming administration.

With Barack Obama and Joe Biden's election, this planning process will be now be formally organized as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the next. The work of this entity will be overseen by three co-chairs: John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse.

The co-chairs will be assisted by an advisory board comprised of individuals with significant private and public sector experience: Carol Browner, William Daley, Christopher Edley, Michael Froman, Julius Genachowski, Donald Gips, Governor Janet Napolitano, Federico Pena, Susan Rice, Sonal Shah, Mark Gitenstein, and Ted Kaufman. Gitenstein and Kaufman will serve as co-chairs of Vice President-elect Biden's transition team.

The website for the transition will be www.change.gov. It is expected to go live later today.

A list of senior staff who will be supervising the day-to-day activities of the transition is after the jump.

-- Evie Stone

Continue reading "Obama Announces Transition Team" »

2:46 PM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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