It could be one of the scoops of the week: President Obama may choose White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew as his nominee for Treasury Secretary by Friday. Bloomberg’s Hans Nichols is reporting the story (he’s on the show today), and while Lew has been frequently mentioned as a potential successor for Secretary Tim Geithner, the timing until now has been unclear – especially with a fight over the debt ceiling and federal budget looming.
If Lew is indeed tapped, it continues a trend in the Obama administration that is getting more attention: notably, that “Mr. Obama’s inner circle will continue to be dominated by men well into his second term,” as the New York Times’ Annie Lowrey writes. Indeed, over the past few days we’ve seen Sen. John Kerry, Fmr. Sen. Chuck Hagel, and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan nominated to top posts in the government. All white men, a notable trend for America’s first African-American president.
Of course, there is diversity in the President’s current cabinet, and its expected that trend will continue as the second term nomination process unfolds. But already, some top key posts have been decided. Is it a trend worth noting, or much ado about nothing? We’ll have that debate and have a broader discussion about leadership and opportunity when we see you at noon ET on NOW.
PANEL
Eric Bates, Fmr. Executive Editor, Rolling Stone
Heather McGhee, Vice President, Demos (@hmcghee)
Jen Psaki, Fmr. Obama 2012 Travelling Press Secretary (@jrpsaki)
Jonathan Capehart, The Washington Post/msnbc Contributor (@capehartj)
GUESTS
Ezra Klein, The Washington Post/msnbc Policy Analyst (@ezraklein)
Hans Nichols, White House Reporter, Bloomberg (@hansnichols)
Dax Tejera