Noriega Doesn’t Get Veterans Affair’s Post; Chance Of Texans On The Cabinet Dwindling
Vince Leibowitz | Dec 07, 2008 | Comments 0
Now that it is clear that State Rep. Rick Noriega won’t be President-Elect Barack Obama’s choice for Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, speculation centers on what other posts he may receive in the administration–and whether or not anyone from Texas will actually be named to the cabinet.
Noriega could still be in the running for an undersecretaryship, head of FEMA, or another bureaucratic job in the administration.
As for others, the best chance of a Texan in the cabinet remains Linda Chavez Thompson as secretary of Labor, but that, too, is looking doubtful. As for other Texans, State Rep. Juan Garcia’s name was mentioned as a possible Secretary of the Navy. That, however, seems to have been a non-starter. Former Congressman Charlie Stenholm (D-Abilene) is also unlikely to be Secretary of Agriculture; he hasn’t even been contacted by Obama’s transition team about the post.
Outgoing Congressman Nick Lampson (D-Stafford) evidently will not be heading NASA in a new administration, as a number of folks in Texas evidently wished. He is, however, “actively campaigning,” to be Undersecretary of Commerce, Oceans and Atmosphere according to an email sent by one of his former constituents in the old 9th Congressional District.
Assuming there won’t be any Texans in the Cabinet (which at this point is a fairly safe assumption), it looks like James B. Steinberg (Dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin) will have the highest ranking sub-cabinet post as Deputy Secretary of State to Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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