Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary?

***Update 12/1, 11 AM***

At a news conference today, Obama introduced his picks of retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security, Susan Rice as UN Ambassador, Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense

Read more here.

***

CNN is reporting Wednesday night that Obama has chosen Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to become secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

President-elect Barack Obama's top choice for secretary of homeland security is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, multiple Democratic sources close to the transition told CNN on condition of anonymity.

One source said he believed the final decision depends on the vetting of the Democratic governor, much like the selection of Eric Holder for attorney general.

Politico has more details on the Napolitano pick:

Napolitano (na-pawl-i-TAW-noh) brings law-and-order experience from her stint as the Grand Canyon State's first female attorney general. One of the nation's most prominent female elected officials, she made frequent appearances on behalf of Barack Obama during the campaign. She was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2006.

Transition insiders have long expected she would be offered a Cabinet slot, although she had also been mentioned for other posts, including attorney general.

Read more about the speculation that Janet Napolitano would be Attorney General.
Read the Obama's Cabinet BigNews Page.

Comments

[kellygrrrl]

well, now AZ has some big work cut out for them:
Find a great Dem Gov to run the state
and
Find a great Dem to challenge McCain's Senate seat

[Dystopic]

Napolitano was to run against McCain in 2010.

[dwilkerson]

There was no indication that she ever wanted to be a senator.

[Horus45]

Unfortunately for us Arizonans there is no position of Lt. Governor to take over for her.
Our Secretary of State Jan Brewer will take over as Gov.
Jan Brewer is a horrible, hyper partisan Republican who will ruin our state.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

being "hyper" partisan is a bad thing? for the Dems thats normal (even when they are in charge) but that ok

[CheshireCat2]

Not unfortunate at all. Being in the education business perhaps we can take this state out of the stone age.

AZ ranks 49th in funding per student. We are getting tired of trying to education children by rubbing nickels together. The state hasn't seen a raise in funding since she came on board.

[knowwhatimsayin]

Couldn't President Obama find some type of appointment for Jan Brewer too--maybe ambassador to Burkina Faso or something like that. Then the AG would be next in line to take over as governor--he is a Democrat.

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

shouldnt you worry about Michigan?

[kellygrrrl]

I've never been to Michigan. I do worry about them and the fallout of the auto industry, though.

[CheshireCat2]

No thanks, we already have a replacement, Jan Brewer (R).

Can we speed up the process?

[JMBrodie]

OBAMA"S potential picks

New and improved.
Who would you select for the rest? Will adjust based on recommendations. Remember, if you don"t like a certain choice, suggest an alternative. Let's have a real discussion.

Secretary of the State:
� Hillary Clinton (DONE)

Attorney General:
� Eric Holder (DONE)

Secretary of Education:
� Arne Duncan (done?)

Secretary of Defense:
� Robert Gates (done?)

Secretary of Health & Human Services:
� Tom Daschle (done?)

Secretary of Homeland Security:
� Janet Napolitano (done?)

Secretary of the Treasury:
� Paul Krugman

National Security Adviser:
� Susan Rice or Richard Clarke

Secretary of Agriculture:
� Jim Leach

Secretary of Commerce:
� Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary of Energy:
� Jeff Bingaman

Secretary of Housing & Urban Development:
� Shirley Franklin

Secretary of the Interior:
� Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Secretary of Labor:
� Andy Stern

Secretary of Transportation:
� Jim Oberstar

Secretary of Veterans' Affairs:
� Tammy Duckworth

United Nations Ambassador:
� Caroline Kennedy

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency:
� Kathleen McGinty

Council of Economic Advisers:
� Austan Goolsbee

Supreme Court Nominee(s) " pick two:
� Cass Sunstein, Legal scholar and Professor at the University of Chicago Law School
� Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, comprising of Connecticut, New York, and Vermont

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

your SCOUTS picks are horrible!

[JMBrodie]

Gimme something better. Discussion, folks, not putdowns.

[JMBrodie]

What is SCOUTS?

[JDJase]

yeah, ENOUGH with the Chicago cronies

[Horus45]

For SCOTUS I would pick Jonathan Turley.

[care4mypeeps]

Congratulations to Mrs Napolitano. I wish her all the best and she has my full support.

President elect Obama has been thoughtful and forward thingking throught out this process.

I am extreemly confident that the difficulty we face as a Nation will be helped by a level
headed spiritual servant whom the Nation chose to lead us out of this mess we are in.

[AZTrueBlue]

Mrs.?

[endtyranny]

This would be a huge mistake. Napolitano is incredibly popular in Arizona. She has the ability not only to get McCain's senate seat (I saw a poll somewhere that put her pretty far ahead against him), but to turn AZ blue. Remember, Obama only lost the state by 9%, that's an amazing feat considering it was his opponent's home state. Having a strong Dem leader in the state would be tremendously helpful for Obama come reelection and the future of the Democratic Party in AZ.

[CheshireCat2]

She is not popular with many here in AZ. She has the most porous border in the union, ran up a 6 billion dollar debt and did nothing for the school system in the state. Our state now ranks 49th in funding per student for education.

[JDJase]

"she is not popular with many here in AZ"

and you know, right? Just because you don't like her doesnt mean nobody likes her. She still has extremely high approval ratings.

My uncle is the extremely conservative republican speaker of the house in Arizona, and he likes her even.

So you can stop with your unintelligent generalizations

[SammyD]

I agree Cheshirecate2. She has been very good with running up the debt in Arizona and had no vision in seeing the real estate downturn coming and making budget adjustments in line with the downturn. She is very aware of what is coming across the border from Mexico (and I don't mean Mexican nationals) so it will be interesting to see if she leaves the border pourous.

[66rock]

Not popular here in AZ? Guess you're not living in the same state I am.

She was Re-elected. As you know, it takes votes from both parties here to elect any
democrat so obviously she is popular.

But don't fear your Republicans will be in office again soon.

By the way did you support Evan Mecham? Or whats his name Rep governor who served prison time? Just wondering.

[dwilkerson]

Maybe... if you're coming from the abstract perspective of a politics fanatic who views it as a game and the participants as pieces.

As I see it, Napolitano is an executive personality and I suspect that she does not WANT to spend 6-12 years of her life wasting away in a legislature. She's the kind of person who likes to get things done and Sec of HLS will allow her to put her skills as an executive to use.

[JDJase]

Great. A lot of talent wasted on a useless job

[Dystopic]

She needs to run against McCain. I don't want him to retire on his own schedule, I want him retired by losing.

[LeeCalif]

Far out. But who will replace her Dem strength in dreadful AZ ?

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

the Lt Gov

[JDJase]

Arizona doesn't have a Lt Governor you ninny

[JDJase]

the Secretary of State

[methepeople]

i was standin' in the shower thinkin'...
...obama's a very shrewd guy running a very shrewd operation as he has been for the past two years, right? the first leak abt hillary as SoS was made BY the obama camp.
has anyone considered that they may have expected all this hooplah surrounding the appointment (or offer thereof) and made a strategic decision to put it out there? perhaps so that their other appointments - the first black attorney general, females in other high-ranking cabinet positions -wouldn't come under any harsh scrutiny? while the media is (predictably) covering the hillary SoS appointment wall-to-wall, obama's free to install whomever he chooses. as it should be i might add..
Just sayin'...

[dadd]

I feel so safe now.

[Anciano]

This is a Bush creation. No one can save this agency. Obama could name Jesus Christ or Winston Churchill to run it and it still would be just a knee jerk terrorpreneur profit taking excuse for a government agency. Mr. President, tear down that agency!

[meleon]

It's needed but so are major changes to it, and once it's streamlined and made more efficent I think more will agree. Just like No Child Left Behind, the idea is good, but the carryout by Bush was horrible, and with Obama at the helm, I believe they'll become pluses.

[rmax53]

The one security "improvement" by DHS was that people could no longer take sharp objects on planes. "Infrastructure" security improvments have been sorely neglected by this so-called agency. It destroyed 30 years of FEMA improvements by taking over that agency. Let's return to the agencies back to their original departments (where they worked better), and kill the DHS boondoggle. The money saved can be better spent protecting ports, water supply, power grids, etc.

[Chapmanp2]

You're right that it's a Bush creation however that doesn't mean it couldn't be remade in to a useful competent part of the government. Bush has used government to further his agenda. Obama I expect will place competent people at the head of government agencies. Homeland security should be just that. The job should be to help secure our borders & ports, & keep US as safe as can be while respecting our laws & constitution. I don't know much about Napolitano but so far what I've seen from Obama has been smart well thought out appointments that have been thoroughly vetted. Watch & learn...

[Wilburrr]

Well that's sure gonna tick off JD Hayworthless. I'll be sure to listen to another radio station for the next millenium. Jan Brewer, Arizona's Republican Secretary of State, would become Governor. Hope that doesn't bring us back to the years of Jack WIlliams, Ev Mecham, and Fife Slimington...

[MsLiz]

I guess this is what qualifies her for Homeland Security. This is a negative assessment written ten years ago when Napolitano was running for AZ AG:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1998-10-29/news/no-no-janet/

[Witchitalineman]

Good choice.

[ivillage]

Governor Janet Napolitano to Head Homeland Security: http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/11/governor-janet-napolitano-to-head-homeland-security.html

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

ah the open borders crowd should rejoice

[Wilburrr]

Arizona's border is hardly "open." I believe Napolitano is the only governor to call in the National Guard to assist in border security.

[CheshireCat2]

AZ still has the most porous borders in the union.

[SabrinaFair]

Ms. Napolitano is a great governor and she will make an excellent head of homeland security. Another great choice! I just know that President-elect Obama will be one of our nation's greatest presidents.