Obama's Team Brings Out the Old and the New
Transition Team Is Expected to Announce Economic Team Next Week
On Wednesday, Clinton told the Obama transition team that she would likely reject the offer.
For Obama's team, Bill Clinton's personal business dealings had initially been a subject of concern. International dealings involved with his presidential library, and his charitable endeavors through the Clinton Foundation had created complications and possible conflicts of interest for his wife. But it did not take long to negotiate an agreement that would prevent any conflict.
Sources say Hillary Clinton was concerned she would lose independence. In the Senate, she is her own master, and that would change substantially as America's top diplomat. She also would have to work closely with Obama, with whom she clashed on international issues during their run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
But seeing her concerns, several people close to Obama reached out to the former first lady Thursday to convince her to take the secretary of state offer. And by Thursday night, Clinton had conveyed to the president-elect that she was interested in the job, essentially accepting his offer.
Details are still being worked out, but an announcement is expected to follow shortly after Thanksgiving, when there also may be word on other members of Obama's national security team.
When asked about the secretary of state job Thursday evening at the ribbon cutting ceremony for an athletic facility for children in Harlem, N.Y., Clinton ignored the question, chuckling and saying, "Somehow, I don't think that's on a lot of young people's minds."
In a press release Friday, Clinton's senior advisor, Philippe Reines, said, "We're still in discussions, which are very much on track. Any reports beyond that are premature."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson had been considered a contender for the secretary of state job. But with Clinton in that post, he is now a leading candidate for secretary of commerce, as first reported by the Washington Post.
If he is offered the job and accepts it, the former secretary of energy under Bill Clinton could be the third former primary opponent that Obama has brought into his team of rivals -- the other two being Vice President-elect Joe Biden and, possibly, Hillary Clinton.
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