Monday, October 22, 2012

RUMORS: Pundits Speculate on Obama's 2nd Term Cabinet Picks // Chris Van Hollen for OMB & Martin O'Malley for HHS?

A Maryland Juice reader forwarded us news that last Friday, The National Journal began speculating on Obama's cabinet picks should he win a second presidential term. Their list of rumors includes the possibility of two Marylanders becoming agency heads: Rep. Chris Van Hollen and Gov. Martin O'Malley. See a brief excerpt from the lengthy article below:
OMB Director: No matter who wins the White House, the partisan budget battles are ongoing. Obama will want a seasoned person to oversee the agency charged with preparing and mapping out the president’s budget. Some names bandied about in Democratic circles include:

Two possible long-shot candidates come from Capitol Hill. One is retiring Sen. Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, who is chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Six.” Conrad has been obsessed with solving the deficit problem for years. The other long shot is Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking member on the House Budget Committee. His profile has risen considerably this fall as a key surrogate for the Obama campaign and one of the party’s loudest critics of his House colleague Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: The consensus is that the current secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, will stay on. She was a loyal foot soldier for the administration when it passed the politically tricky Affordable Care Act, but she has avoided taking too much of the blame for the law’s unpopular features. Although she has not made a public commitment to holding her post, Sebelius is thought to be determined to see the law fully implemented.

If the secretary goes, however, Lois Quam, the executive director of the Global Health Initiative at the State Department is a possibility for HHS.... Several Democratic governors might be considered (but they may be on short lists for other Cabinet posts as well). Martin O’Malley of Maryland has overseen one of the most aggressive state health-insurance exchange-building exercises in the country....

This article may be premature, given that recent polling is showing the Presidential race tightening up. Time to get your canvassing shoes on!

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