Obama Cabinet Shaping Up

President Obama is wasting no time completing his 2nd term cabinet.  Last week, the senate confirmed Jack Lew as the new Treasury Secretary.  They also finally confirmed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who was sworn in and on the job a mere 12 hours later. Now, the president has made his economic and environmental choices known, choosing candidates he says will help grow the economy, increase sources of energy and reduce the threat of climate change.

Yesterday, Mr. Obama nominated Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy previously served as the assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, which develops policies and regulations for limiting air pollution and radiation exposure.

Mr. Obama also named Walmart executive and former Office of Management and Budget official Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be his new budget director.  In addition to her work with the Clinton administration, Burwell headed the Walmart Foundation, which managed and donated nearly $1 billion in corporate contributions in 2011 to projects around the world, including fighting hunger and empowering women.

The president effectively put to rest any question regarding the lack of a female presence in the administration.  He then nominated MIT professor Ernest Moniz to be the new Energy secretary.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” the president said yesterday during a nomination ceremony in the East Room at the White House.  Part of their jobs will be to “control our own energy future, while reducing pollution which contributes to climate change.”