By: Politico Staff

Secretary of State 

Buzz continued Tuesday about the possibility that Hillary Rodham Clinton will be Barack Obama’s secretary of state — though Clinton insiders also told Politico that the New York senator might reject the job. 

There are also concerns about the idea in some precincts of Obamaland. From his supporters in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party to campaign aides of the soon-to-be president, there’s a sense of ambivalence about giving a political plum to a woman they spent 18 months hammering as the compromised standard-bearer of an era that deserves to be forgotten. 

“These are people who believe in this stuff more than Barack himself does,” said a Democrat close to Obama’s campaign. “These guys didn’t put together a campaign in order to turn the government over to the Clintons.” 

— Ben Smith

Trade Representative 

K Street sources are floating three names for U.S. trade representative: Lael Brainard, a former national economic adviser in the Clinton White House who’s now a vice president at the Brookings Institution; former Rep. Cal Dooley (D-Calif.); and former Clinton White House chief of staff Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty, president of McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory and advocacy firm. 

One key player who’s missing: top Obama economic adviser Dan Tarullo. The Georgetown University law professor has been working as Obama’s liaison to the Treasury Department throughout the transition and is reported to be on the shortlist for a high-level economic post. 

— Lisa Lerer

Secretary of Homeland Security 

The list for secretary of Homeland Security is already long. And no fewer than four prospects come from the 9/11 Commission: co-chairmen Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, and Tom Kean, a former New Jersey governor, and members Tim Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, and Jamie Gorelick, a former U.S. deputy attorney general. 

James Lee Witt, who led the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, is also frequently mentioned. So is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who’s also bandied about as a candidate for attorney general or energy secretary. 

— Jen DiMascio

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