Foreign Policy Team Announced

By Ben Trott

As expected, Hillary Clinton was today announced as Obama-Biden's nominee for Secretary of State at a press conference in Chicago. Below is a video of the announcement.

Alongside Clinton's nomination, much of the rest of the foreign policy team - said to be tasked with helping usher in "a new dawn of American leadership" - was also announced.

Robert Gates will continue in his position as Secretary of Defense. (For early comment on this (admittedly long awaited) announcement, see Kevin Drumm's remarks on the Mother Jones blog).

Retired General James Jones will be White House National Security Adviser.

Former Justice Department official Eric Holder will be Attorney General.

Arizona Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano was announced as Secretary of Homeland Security.

Susan Rice, another Clinton-era official (then serving on the National Security Council), will be UN Ambassador.

Obama's prepared remarks for the press conference are online here.

The Nation's John Nichols has a piece on the ideological proximity of Obama and Clinton. I'll be posting links to other comment on these announcements over the next few days.