– Trump Picks Elaine Chao As Transportation Secretary:
In the first of what Mike Pence called “several very important announcements,” Politico reports that former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is set to be announced later Tuesday as President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Transportation.
The other contender for the position was former Democratic U.S. Representative from Tennessee Harold Ford.
Chao, who ran the Labor Department under President George W. Bush, met with the incoming president at Trump Tower last week and discussed labor and transportation policy, Trump’s transition team said then.
The formal announcement is expected at 1 p.m., one source said.
The wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Chao is the first Asian-American woman to hold a Cabinet-level position. She also served as deputy secretary of transportation under President George H.W. Bush. Chao was also a member of Trump’s Asian Pacific American Advisory Council during the campaign.
So here is where we stand for now…
POSTS ALREADY FILLED
WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF
* Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
CHIEF WHITE HOUSE STRATEGIST AND SENIOR COUNSELOR
* Steve Bannon, former head of the conservative website Breitbart News
ATTORNEY GENERAL
* Jeff Sessions, Republican U.S. senator from Alabama and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (subject to Senate confirmation)
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY DIRECTOR
* Republican U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo from Kansas (subject to Senate confirmation)
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
* Michael Flynn, retired Army lieutenant general and former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency
UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR
* Nikki Haley, Republican South Carolina governor (subject to Senate confirmation)
EDUCATION SECRETARY
* Betsy DeVos, Republican donor and former chair of the Michigan Republican Party
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY
* Tom Price, Republican U.S. representative from Georgia, orthopedic surgeon\
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY
* Elaine Chao, former labor secretary and deputy transportation secretary under Republican Presidents George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush, respectively. Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
* * *
CONTENDERS
Below are people mentioned as contenders for senior roles as the Republican president-elect works to form his administration before taking office on Jan. 20, according to Reuters sources and media reports.
TREASURY SECRETARY
* Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive and Trump’s campaign finance chairman
* Jeb Hensarling, Republican U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
* Tom Barrack, founder and chairman of Colony Capital Inc
* John Allison, former chief executive officer of BB&T Corp
* David McCormick, president of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates LP
SECRETARY OF STATE
* Mitt Romney, 2012 Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts governor
* Rudy Giuliani, former Republican mayor of New York City
* John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Republican President George W. Bush
* Bob Corker, Republican U.S. senator from Tennessee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
* Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq
DEFENSE SECRETARY
* James Mattis, retired Marine general
* David Petraeus, former CIA director and retired Army general
* Tom Cotton, Republican U.S. senator from Arkansas
* Jon Kyl, former Republican U.S. senator from Arizona
* Duncan Hunter, Republican U.S. representative from California and early Trump supporter, member of the House Armed Services Committee
* Jim Talent, former Republican U.S. senator from Missouri who was on the Senate Armed Services Committee
* Rick Perry, former Republican Texas governor
* Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser under President George W. Bush
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY
* Michael McCaul, Republican U.S. representative from Texas and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee
* David Clarke, Milwaukee county sheriff and vocal Trump supporter
* Joe Arpaio, outgoing Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff who campaigned for Trump
* Kris Kobach, Kansas secretary of state
* Frances Townsend, homeland security and counterterrorism adviser to former Republican President George W. Bush
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ADMINISTRATOR
* Jeff Holmstead, energy lawyer, former EPA official during George W. Bush administration
* Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors
* Leslie Rutledge, Republican Arkansas attorney general
* Carol Comer, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management
* Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general
ENERGY SECRETARY
* Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc
* Kevin Cramer, Republican U.S. Representative from North Dakota
* Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors
* Larry Nichols, co-founder of Devon Energy Corp
* James Connaughton, chief executive of Nautilus Data Technologies and a former environmental adviser to President George W. Bush
* Rick Perry, former Republican Texas governor
INTERIOR SECRETARY
* Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee
* Jan Brewer, former Republican Arizona governor
* Forrest Lucas, founder of oil products company Lucas Oil
* Harold Hamm, Oklahoma oil and gas mogul, chief executive of Continental Resources Inc
* Robert Grady, venture capitalist, partner in private equity firm Gryphon Investors
* Mary Fallin, Republican Oklahoma governor
* Ray Washburne, chief executive of investment company Charter Holdings
* Cathy McMorris Rodgers, U.S. representative from Washington state and Republican Conference chair
COMMERCE SECRETARY
* Wilbur Ross, billionaire investor, chairman of Invesco Ltd subsidiary WL Ross & Co
* Linda McMahon, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive and two-time Republican Senate candidate
DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
* Admiral Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency
* Ronald Burgess, retired lieutenant general and former Defense Intelligence Agency chief
* Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
* Pete Hoekstra, former Republican U.S. representative from Michigan
* Rudy Giuliani, former Republican mayor of New York City
U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
* Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steel producer Nucor Corp
LABOR SECRETARY
* Andrew Puzder, chief executive officer of CKE Restaurants
* Victoria Lipnic, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission commissioner and former Labor Department official during the George W. Bush administration
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY
* Dr. Ben Carson, former 2016 Republican presidential candidate and retired neurosurgeon
SUPREME COURT VACANCY
The Trump transition team confirmed he would choose from a list of 21 names he drew up during his campaign, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and William Pryor, a federal judge with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
