VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Joseph R. Biden
With his appointment to chair the Middle Class Task Force, a major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America, Vice President Joe Biden has been traveling the country and drawing support for Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. He meets regularly with Obama’s national security team, and his trips to Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan shows that he will be heavily involved in international affairs. During a recent summit of Latin American progressive leaders in Chile he upheld the decades-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba stands. Nevertheless, he plans to exert less authority than former Vice President Dick Cheney used in the position.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton
While her immediate goals are to stabilize the conflicts in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, as well as restore the U.S.’s international image, Hillary Clinton has been utilizing what she calls “smart power,” or diplomacy to strengthen relationships with allies. Since her confirmation, Clinton has visited Asia and addressed the economic challenges facing the international community. She committed to help curb drug violence in Mexico and she met with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an effort to repair U.S.’s strained relationships after Russia’s 2008 attack on Georgia.
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Secretary Timothy F. Geithner
Timothy F. Geithner will have his hands full in the next year as he supervises the economic recovery of both Main Street and Wall Street. From contretemps over unpaid taxes that almost derailed his nomination to extreme criticism over his approval of AIG bonuses, the treasury secretary has managed to weather the storm and craft a bank rescue plan that will provide financing for $500 billion with the potential to expand up to $1 trillion. He also encouraged Congress to pass a bill providing $17.4 billion in emergency government loans to Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. At the recent G20 summit he pressured foreign leaders to commit to more aggressive spending so as to help end the worldwide recession. Recently he outlined a framework for regulatory reform to subvert future economic crisis and issued restrictions on executive pay. Looking ahead, Geithner plans to make the tax code more intuitive and diminish the effects of mortgage-backed securities on the economy, while trying to reduce mortgage interest rates and increase homeownership.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Secretary Robert M. Gates
Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently recommended a massive overhaul of military spending that would slash budgets for weapons programs and related private sector jobs, but provide billions for more troops and new technology to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gates faces a range of challenges which include arms proliferation by Iran and North Korea, which recently launched a missile against objections from the U.S. and the international community. Most importantly he is coordinating the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from major cities in Iraq by the end of June 2009, and all troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Secretary Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General Eric Holder has a long to-do list ranging from cracking down on foreclosure rescue scams to penalizing credit market criminals. He is advising Obama on closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, scheduled for within the year. During his confirmation hearing he called the interrogation method of waterboarding torture. In addition to working with the Treasury Department to try and recover AIG bonuses, the Justice Department has joined the effort to fight drug and arms trafficking in and out of Mexico. To help resuscitate the sagging news industry he is investigating antitrust policies to allow newspapers to merge operations.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar
Salazar plays an instrumental role in carrying out President Barack Obama’s New Energy for American Plan designed to create a clean energy-based economy that promotes American investment and innovation. Since assuming his post in January, the department has held seven major oil and gas lease sales in an effort to add resources for U.S. domestic energy production. Known for creating and implementing a vision for a renewable energy economy less dependent on foreign oil while in the U.S. Senate, from 2004-2009, Salazar brings that same zeal to his post as secretary of the Interior Department.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack
The U.S. Department of Agriculture started disbursing the first wave of $10 billion in guaranteed housing loans this month to help spur economic and home ownership opportunities in rural America. Under Vilsack, the USDA is also ramping up efforts to modernize rural communities with the expansion of broadband service, affordable and energy efficient housing, and increased opportunities for small businesses.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Secretary Gary F. Locke
Locke’s primary responsibilities include carrying out the 2010 Census. To ensure this task is done effectively, he joined 250 national partners in launching outreach efforts to increase the number of Census volunteers. The former Washington governor is also in charge of expanding the country’s broadband infrastructure and brining economic development to communities hardest hit by the recession. During his two terms in Washington, Locke arduously worked to dismantle trade barriers around the globe to advance American products.DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Secretary Hilda L. Solis
Solis plays a key role in executing Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As unemployment reached 8.5% in March, a 26-year-high, the Labor Department began distributing $7 billion in incentives to expand unemployment insurance and $4 billion for education, training, and reemployment services, in an effort to resuscitate states’ economies. Solis brings with her years of congressional experience representing the northwestern region of Dallas.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Secretary-designate Kathleen Sebelius
If confirmed for this position, Sebelius will have to hit the ground running. Upon announcing her nomination in March, Obama simultaneously released  $155 million to support 126 new health centers around the nation. The facilities will help those without insurance obtain access to primary and preventative healthcare services. The Kansas governor will be responsible for executing the president’s crafting measures for affordable healthcare, expand access and improve the quality of health for all Americans. Sebelius is well versed in the field having worked across party lines in Kansas to devise fully supported healthcare programs.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Secretary Shaun L.S. Donovan
Donovan is responsible for overseeing Obama’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which includes $200 billion to bolster Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Since February, Donavan has moved forward in distributing $10 billion to states for the creation of green jobs, the improvement of public facilities in local communities, and the development, financing, and modernizing of public housing, among the laundry list of programs the department is responsible for.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Secretary Raymond L. LaHood
LaHood is overseeing the building of new infrastructure, with a focus on increasing mass transit options as the nation moves toward sustainable transportation and land use. LaHood has already hit the ground running, allotting more than $229 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for aviation infrastructure, $36 million for the Central Phoenix/East Valley Light Rail Project in Arizona, and $258 million for U.S. airports for security, infrastructure, and capacity projects. He is also implementing new fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks for the 2011 model year.DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Secretary Steven Chu
A Nobel
Prize winner (with a YouTube following), physicist Chu, is challenged with taking America from oil-dependent to energy-efficient. As a sweeping climate bill continues to be debated by Congress, Chu plans to invest $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation projects and is pushing for carbon tariffs on imports. He recently announced $6 billion in new funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for use in accelerating environmental cleanup work and creating thousands of jobs across 12 states.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Secretary Arne Duncan
In April, Duncan distributed $44 billion in funds from Obama’s recovery act to save education jobs, improve K-12 and higher education, and fund public safety and other government programs. He is pushing for more autonomy for schools, innovation in teacher pay, programs to attract only the best and brightest teachers, and an extended school calendar — six days a week, at least 11 months a year, to be exact. As secretary of education, Duncan is charged with upgrading learning standards, making higher education affordable, and boosting graduation rates.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERAN AFFAIRS
Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
A Vietnam War veteran, Shinseki has oversight over the implementation of a modified Post-9/11 GI bill, which goes into effect Aug. 1, and the allotment of a budget increase of more than $25 billion to be used to expand the VA healthcare program to serve an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013. Shinseki, known for butting heads with former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfield in his push for more troops in Iraq, has pledged to transform the department to better cater to 21st century veterans, upgrading many services and initiatives.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Secretary Janet A. Napolitano
Napolitano, who once served as governor and attorney general in Arizona, has been traveling to Mexico to begin working out details of her $400 million plan to halt illegal smuggling and immigration which includes sending an additional 360 agents to the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border. With reference to terrorism as “man caused disasters” in her plight to change the fearful tone of the “War on Terror,†she unveiled final allocations of $970 million for 10 federal programs designed to protect the country’s transportation system from terrorism.
COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
Chair Christina Romer
Romer’s job is one of the most crucial – and closely scrutinized — in the Obama administration. In addition to appraising economic trends, she is charged with developing analyses and policies that, in these trying times, will increase the nation’s employment, production, and purchasing power. Romer must also appraise the federal government role in achieving these goals and provide the president with studies, reports and legislative recommendations. A former student of Larry Summers and University of California at Berkeley professor who specialized in the Great Depression, she played a key role in crafting Obama’s economic recovery plan. She freely acknowledges the road ahead will be bumpy, but feels confident the administration is on the right course.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
The former first female and first African American to serve as the New Jersey governor’s chief of staff takes the helm at the EPA during a period when alternative energy solutions offer the promise of helping to jumpstart the nation’s economy. Her 20 years of experience as an environmental regulator puts her in a pivotal position as Congress begins to debate the merits of cap and trade carbon emissions.
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Director Peter Orszag
Orszag has been an OMB director focusing on healthcare policy since 2007, which makes him a particularly valuable member of an administration that has made healthcare reform a cornerstone of its economic reform policies. His expertise
will be key in moving forward Obama’s goal to expand coverage while simultaneously containing costs. Orszag blogs regularly on the OMB Web site, addressing a broad range of issues from the fiscal impact of winding down a war to the administration’s proposals to reduce healthcare costs.OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
Deputy Director Rob Nabors
Nabors has returned to OMB after a stint as staff director of the House appropriations committee. He first worked there during the Clinton administration. This combined experience makes him particularly qualified and he has a reputation for having an exceptional command for the numbers. In addition to helping shepherd Obama’s budget through Congress, Nabors is also charged with providing oversight to agencies and states on federal stimulus spending, of which approximately $51 billion of the money in grants, loans and contracts has been obligated so far.
UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Ronald Kirk
As a former first black mayor of Dallas and failed U.S. Senate candidate, Kirk has little trade experience. What he does have is charisma and connections, which may be more important at a time when America is being criticized for being “protectionist.†That winning personality will be critical as he seeks to develop and oversee U.S.trade strategy, policy, and negotiation; open foreign markets to U.S. products and services’ and coordinate trade policy with Congress, and the State and Commerce Departments. The “Buy America†provision in the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress may prove to be a hurdle, as well as barriers to enforcement of US trade agreements by foreign nations. Kirk, Obama’s fourth nominee with tax problems, as mayor, hosted small businesses on trade missions and pledged during his hearing to increase opportunities for American entrepreneurs in the global marketplace.
UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS
Susan Rice
Rice recently faced–and passed–her first big test as the nation’s top diplomat when she won a unanimous vote by the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution that condemns North Korea’s test missile launch and demands that the nation discontinue such activities. It was a hard-earned victory, given the United States’ history of strained relations with the UN. Rice, who is known to not suffer fools lightly, will play a key role in helping Obama keep his campaign promise of a new era of American foreign policy and can be counted on to be vocal on issues of human rights in such nations as Haiti and Darfur.
WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF
Rahm Emmanuel
Known for his profanity-laced tirades, Emmanuel has shown remarkable restraint since he became White House chief of staff. Despite his volatile reputation, Emmanuel has proven that he has the both the temperament and the finesse to advance the administration’s views and build a consensus among the competing egos in Congress and the White House. He has worked hard to find bipartisan solutions to the nation’s current economic crisis. “This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that we could not do before,†he said in one interview. “The good news, I suppose if you want to see a silver lining, is the problems are big enough that they lend themselves to both parties for the solution.â€
KEY POSITIONS
WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY
Desiree Rogers
Rogers may have the most “fun†job at the White House, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own conflicts, such as complaints from people not invited to the first White House Seder. As the first black White House social secretary, she’s charged with planning a broad range of events from the annual Easter egg roll to state dinners, including cocktail parties and bill signings. Another aspect
of her role will undoubtedly be to introduce America to African American culture. Since Obama took office, invitees have included Republicans and Democrats alike, underscoring his desire to develop relationships with people who may not share his views.WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL
Director Melody Barnes
Barnes possesses a strong understanding of both domestic policy and the legislative process. She was most recently an executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress and served for eight years as Sen. Edward Kennedy’s chief counsel on the Senate judiciary committee. In this role she will coordinate and execute Obama’s domestic policies and act as a liaison between the White House, federal agencies and Congress. Look for her to be a frequent and outspoken advocate for the rollout of Obama’s healthcare reform proposals.
WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF POLITICAL AFFAIRS
Patrick Gaspard
Brilliant and self-effacing are two descriptions rarely applied to the same person in political circles, but Haitian-American Gaspard is viewed to be both and more. He is a former aide to New York Mayor David Dinkins; labor operative, national field director for America Coming Together, a 527 organization dedicated to getting out the Democratic vote; and political director for Obama’s general election campaign; he reportedly has a unique ability to serve as a “bridge†between government and various constituencies. Labor unions, which are finding Obama as president to be less sympathetic than they’d anticipated when they put their support behind the Obama the candidate will likely count on Gaspard to be their voice in an administration that must balance the needs of Wall Street and Main Street. The man who is favorably viewed to be more workhorse than show horse, fills the role held by the controversial Karl Rove during the Bush administration.
OFFICE OF PUBLIC LIASON
Chief of Staff to the Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison
Michael Strautmanis
Two juicy tidbits about Strautmanis: He previously worked for the beleaguered former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich as legislative director and counsel and then helped him become governor in 2002 and in his role at the White House he’ll be the main point man for the actor Kal Penn, who was killed off in his role on the popular medical series House so he could join the Obama administration as a liaison for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Strautmanis, who has close ties to both the Clinton administration and first lady Michelle Obama for whom he worked as a paralegal, served as deputy chief of staff to Obama in the U.S. Senate and as senior counsel for the Obama campaign. He is chief of staff to fellow Chicagoan Valerie Jarrett.
PERSONAL AIDE
Reggie Love
Love is to Obama what the fictional Charlie Young was to President Bartlet on the NBC drama, The West Wing. In the lexicon of politics, this valet cum go-fer cum ultimate personal assistant, is known as the president’s “body man.†Always at the boss’s side, his job is to ensure that Obama has everything he needs to get through his fast-paced, fully-loaded days, from carrying his jacket, making sure he has his briefing notes and keeping the Oval Office kitchen stocked with favorite snacks. Love calls himself the “White House Chief of Stuffâ€; Obama calls him “super cool.†And although Love, who served as Obama’s travel aide during the campaign, holds a political science degree from Duke University, the two do not discuss politics, preferring in their rare downtime to indulge in their passions for music and sports. They have developed a deep and genuine bond that perhaps comes from both having achieved success against the odds