Incoming US President Barack Obama on Thursday picked two more candidates for his White House team, choosing Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to be the homeland security chief and ex-Senator Tom Daschle for the healthcare job.
Napolitano, a 50-year-old Democrat, was elected as Governor of the conservative southwestern state in 2002 and re-elected in 2006. She would accept the post if she passes the vetting process, CNN reported citing multiple sources.
The Homeland Security Department was created after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Obama has also chosen former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, and he has indicated he wants the job, sources close to the transition team were quoted as saying by CNN.
Daschle was also looking to be the White House health pointperson, who will report directly to Obama and will be writing a new healthcare reform plan that he is expected to submit to the Congress next year.
The former South Dakota Senator is likely to officially join the Obama transition team as the lead adviser on health issues in the next few weeks, sources told the US broadcaster. Wealthy Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker is the top candidate to be commerce secretary under Obama, reports said.
The Obama transition team said in a statement that the President-elect is "committed to putting together a competent team that is diverse in many ways, including experience." The US media is pointing out that more than half of the people named so far to Obama's transition or staff posts are "Clintonistas", or those with ties to former President Bill Clinton's administration.
