Rick Noriega Interviews For Post In Obama Administration

State Rep. Noriega (D-Houston), who was the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate this year, interviewed Tuesday with President-Elect Barack Obama for a position in his administration.

From the Houston Chronicle:

The meeting appeared to be a potential first step toward consideration of Noriega, 50, for appointment to an administration position, and no specific job was mentioned, said people close to the process who spoke on the condition of not being identified.

With Clinton administration official Federico Peña as a go-between, Noriega was invited a few days ago to meet with Obama, the sources said.

Peña, secretary of transportation and energy under President Clinton, co-chaired the Obama campaign and was a key Hispanic figure in the drive to elect the Democratic presidential ticket. Noriega is Hispanic.

Of course, this doesn’t mean anything is a done deal by any means:

Sources with knowledge of Obama’s talk with Noriega indicated the transition team had not yet examined Noriega’s personal financial records — an inspection that precedes consideration of candidates for top-level appointments such as Cabinet positions.

Obama’s team will stay in touch with Noriega as personnel selections unfold before Obama takes office in late January, the sources said.

Given that Noriega has already had to make financial disclosures to the FEC for his U.S. Senate race, and his wife, Melissa, has had to make similar financial disclosures as an acting State Representative and Houston City Councilwoman, I doubt there will be anything that would show up in a financial disclosure check that would cause any problems.

I’d say it is doubtful that Noriega is being considered for a cabinet post, although a couple of people have mentioned the Department of Energy in context with his name. I think FEMA is a more likely post for Noriega, or perhaps a position with Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of his work on the Texas-Mexico border.

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