Cabinet Rumors Continue

Published Nov 09 2008, 09:04 AM by David S. Bernstein

You know of rumors that Sen. John Kerry could be Secretary of State; you know that former Harvard President Larry Summers might be Treasury Secretary. There are lots and lots of other Bay Staters supposedly in the mix for Cabinet posts. Most will turn out to be totally bogus (more interesting will be the mid-level appointments, and the regional offices for HUD, HHS, and Labor), but we should revel in the rumors while we can.

BTW, there's an interesting notion going around that Obama could give a cabinet post to one of Maine's moderate Republican Senators, Olympia Snowe (possibly Commerce Secretary) or Susan Collins (possibly Homeland Security). That would satisfy the "bipartisan" outreach -- and allow Maine Gov. Baldacci to appoint Democrat Tom Allen to the Senate, nudging the party closer to the filibuster-proof 60.

In any event, here are some of the latest Massachusetts cabinet rumors:

--Politico includes Gov. Deval Patrick in its AG rumor list, as many are doing.

--MIT's Ernest Moniz is getting buzz for Energy Secretary, including a mention in this WaPo piece.

--Harvard's Nicolas Retsinas rates an occasional mention for HUD Secretary.

--Harvard's Charles Ogletree is in the AG mix in this CBS News piece.

--AP puts MIT's Jane Garvey, former Logan Airport chief, among the Transportation Secretary possibilities.

--The Globe, among others, is talking about Ian Bowles as head of EPA.

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3 Comments

jeffery mcnary said:

bowles is the only one with kinship and without bags. garvey? paleeaze. she was at the hairdresser on 9/11. ogeltree, summers, emanuel? what's wrong with that picture? think about it. perhaps here's a teachable moment. tribe might find a slot on the court, which may be why he didn't complain about not signing off on an early campaign ad which featured him.

perhaps a call to larry rasky could be helpful and informative.

November 9, 2008 3:21 PM
koufax said:

heard from a very strong source that Nelson Diaz is up for Secretary of HUD. He was HUD's General Counsel under President Clinton and knows the terrain. What's more, the Brookings Institute is publishing a book on Housing and it cites the Diaz Opinion as the cause for the success of the HOPE IV (hope 6) program. Judge Diaz's opinion allowed leveraging of public and private financing and partnerships with private sector by the Public Housing Authorities that was never done before. He'd be a great choice.

November 9, 2008 5:45 PM
Ryan said:

I am all for getting Obama to offer a whole host of 'moderate' Republican Senators... with Democratic Governors or in Blue states with special elections... nice positions, be it in the cabinet, at agencies or nice ambassadorships. A lot of these moderate Republicans would actually be good in the positions, so I'm not feeling that guilty on the two other clear plusses: it'll make the Senate bluer and better and the national Republican party crazier (and therefore less likely to get back in power or stop progress).

November 9, 2008 9:36 PM