[Infowarrior] - Napolitano for DHS Secretary?

[Richard Forno]

Dems: Napolitano emerges for Homeland Security job

By LIZ SIDOTI – 1 hour ago

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h2qtj24vzZZS2Jid8I03W0bz7zXwD94IQHN00

WASHINGTON (AP) — Barack Obama is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet  
Napolitano for the job of secretary of homeland security, top Obama  
advisers and several Democrats said Thursday as the shape of the  
president-elect's Cabinet begins to emerge.

The Obama advisers cautioned that no final decision has been made on  
putting Napolitano in charge of the Homeland Security department, the  
massive agency created by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist  
attacks. But the advisers said she was by far the top contender.

Thus far, Obama has informally selected Washington lawyer Eric Holder  
as attorney general and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as  
health and human services secretary. The plans could be sidetracked by  
unexpected glitches in the final vetting process, officials note.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton seems more likely than ever to be Obama's  
secretary of state. Clinton is deciding whether to take that post as  
America's top diplomat, her associates said.

Among other Cabinet posts: senior Democrats say there is a strong  
possibility that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would stay temporarily  
and later give way to former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig. Even so,  
Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Sen. Jack Reed  
of Rhode Island also are said to be under consideration.

Democrats also say that several people remain in the running for the  
Treasury Secretary position, including Timothy Geithner, president of  
Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Lawrence Summers, former treasury  
secretary and one-time Harvard University president; and former  
Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Several news organizations reported Thursday that Chicago  
businesswoman Penny Pritzker, who was Obama's national campaign  
finance chairman, is his leading choice to become secretary of  
commerce. But the Obama advisers strongly disputed the reports, and  
officials say Laura D'Andrea Tyson, the former chair of White House  
Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton, remained in the  
running.

The Obama advisers and Democrats discussed the Cabinet positions only  
on grounds of anonymity because of the private nature of the screening  
process.

Obama appears to be assembling a team that includes a mix of longtime  
aides, Washington insiders and a sprinkling of Democratic governors.  
Besides Napolitano, strong contenders for Cabinet posts include New  
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius and Napolitano, who once was Arizona's attorney general, were  
among the first governors to commit to Obama's candidacy. Richardson  
endorsed Obama after ending his own presidential bid, angering Clinton  
and her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

As governor, Napolitano has fought to curb illegal immigration, but  
she has been skeptical that building a fence along the border will  
solve the problem. She once said, "You build a 50-foot wall, somebody  
will find a 51-foot ladder."

Last year, her state passed a law that requires all Arizona businesses  
to use the federal online database, E-Verify, to confirm that new  
hires have valid Social Security numbers and are eligible for  
employment. This has been a cornerstone of the Bush administration's  
immigration policy.

As governor she has overseen wildfires and severe flooding and worked  
with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, now part of the Homeland  
Security Department.

Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan, Jim Kuhnhenn and David Espo  
in Washington contributed to this story.