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December 19, 2008

Obama to Name Final Top Cabinet Posts
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=211AC84:A6F02AD83191E160165639A7141D5E05D937473925D9872C&
 
US president-elect announces choices for chiefs of Labor, Transportation
departments before heading to his native Hawaii for holiday break 
Barack Obama U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name his
picks for the final two top Cabinet positions Friday, before heading to
his native Hawaii Saturday for holiday break. During a news conference
in Chicago, Mr. Obama will announce his chiefs for the Department of
Labor and Department of Transportation. Officials say Mr. Obama is
expected to name California Representative Hilda Solis as labor
secretary. Solis, who is of Latin American descent, is expected to
champion workers' rights, as she has done in the House of
Representatives. Mr. Obama is expected to tap U.S. Representative Ray La
Hood, a Republican, as transportation secretary. The nomination would
make La Hood the second Republican in the Cabinet after Defense
Secretary Robert Gates. The President-elect will also announce his
choice for U.S. trade representative, who has the power to negotiate
trade and investment deals with other countries. The job is a Cabinet
rank post, not a top Cabinet position. Officials say Mr. Obama has
chosen Ron Kirk, the first black mayor of Dallas, Texas, for the trade
job. Thursday, Mr. Obama nominated Mary Schapiro to head the Securities
and Exchange Commission, which regulates the financial markets. The
president-elect said she will bring a new spirit of accountability to
the agency. Separately, Mr. Obama named former Treasury official Gary
Gensler to head the agency that oversees the markets for commodities.
Mr. Obama also picked Dan Tarullo - a law professor and advisor to
former President Bill Clinton - to serve on the board of the U.S.
central bank, the Federal Reserve.


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