19 December 2008
Obama Adds Republican Arab American to List of Cabinet Picks
President-elect has named all of his choices for Cabinet secretaries
Washington — President-elect Obama capped off a busy week of Cabinet announcements December 19 with four more picks. Among his most recent selections is an Arab-American Republican.
At a Chicago press conference, Obama said he intends to nominate Republican Representative Ray LaHood to be the next secretary of transportation.
LaHood, a congressman from Illinois who served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would be one of two Republicans in the Obama Cabinet, if confirmed by the Senate. The other is Robert Gates, President Bush’s defense secretary, who will continue in that post in the next administration.
“When I began this appointment process, I said I was committed to finding the best person for the job, regardless of party,” Obama said. “Ray’s appointment reflects that bipartisan spirit — a spirit we need to reclaim in this country to make progress for the American people.”
“I have often said that once the election is over we must put aside our partisan labels and work together for the good of the American people,” LaHood said. “That is exactly the approach President-elect Obama will take as president and is exactly the approach I will take as secretary of transportation.”
LaHood, who is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants, is one of a handful of Arab Americans currently serving in the U.S. Congress. Many Arab Americans also serve in state and local governments.
“Arab Americans are proud of Ray LaHood’s service to our country. He is a measured and thoughtful voice on the Hill, someone who has never been afraid to reach across the aisle to find common ground. We salute President-elect Obama on a great pick for the Department of Transportation and for America,” Arab American Institute President James Zogby said in a December 18 press statement.
Arab Americans have served in previous Cabinets. Former President George H.W. Bush appointed John H. Sununu to be White House chief of staff, a Cabinet-level post in that administration. The first Arab American to head a federal department was Donna Shalala, who served as President Clinton’s secretary of health and human services. President George W. Bush had two Arab Americans in his first Cabinet: Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
OTHER CABINET ANNOUNCEMENTS
Obama also announced the names of three other people he has chosen to serve in his administration: California Representative Hilda Solis to head the Department of Labor, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk to be the next U.S. trade representative and Karen Mills to lead the Small Business Administration. All must be confirmed by the Senate.
Solis, who has served in Congress since 2000, previously served as a state senator, the first female Hispanic in the California Senate. The daughter of Mexican and Nicaraguan immigrants, she will be one of five females and three Hispanics in the Obama Cabinet if all are confirmed.
Since serving as mayor, U.S. Trade Representative-designate Kirk has worked as a lobbyist and a lawyer. Mills, picked to head the Small Business Administration, is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist and currently is president of a company in Maine.
With these announcements, Obama has completed his selections for heads of federal departments. The president-elect and his family plan to head to his birth-state of Hawaii to spend the Christmas holiday.
For more on Obama’s Cabinet selections, see “The Future Cabinet.”
