There was one withdrawal, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, whom Obama had named Secretary of Commerce. Richardson's administration is currently the subject of a federal corruption probe; while maintaining that his administration was responsible for no wrongdoing, he withdrew so as to prevent a lengthy confirmation process from hindering the work of the U.S. Department of Commerce.[75] The position was filled by Gary Locke.
Obama named Tim Kaine as new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, replacing Howard Dean who has clashed with Obama and his advisors in the past. Kaine will serve concurrently as Governor of Virginia until his term ends in January, 2010. [76]
Obama named Aneesh Chopra for the new position of Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Vivek Kundra as Chief Information Officer and Jeffrey Zients Chief Performance Officer[77][78] and deputy director for management of the Office of Management and Budget[79]
Initial reaction to Obama's choice of Leon E. Panetta as CIA director was mixed, with some intelligence professionals expressing concern that Panetta lacked specific intelligence experience,[80] and others such as former Congressman and co-chair of the Iraq Study Group Lee Hamilton praising the choice.[81]
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Lawrence Summers
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy Director, National Economic Council (announced November 24, 2008)[90] |
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Ken Salazar
Secretary of the Interior (announced December 17) (the nomination was given a Saxbe fix)[89][96] |
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Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change (announced December 15, 2008)[99] |
Hillary Clinton
Secretary of State (announced December 1)[100] (the nomination was given a Saxbe fix)[101][102][103][104][105] |
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Susan Rice official United Nations portrait.jpg
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