Obama announces nominees for energy, EPA and budget posts

Washington, DC, United States (4E) – President Barack Obama Monday named two former cabinet officials in the Clinton administration and the assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as his new cabinet members.

Obama presented Ernest Moniz, Gina McCarthy and Sylvia Mathews Burwell in a ceremony at the White House and announced they will head the Energy Department, EPA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), respectively.

Obama described Moniz, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as a brilliant scientist with prior Washington experience as a former energy undersecretary. If confirmed, he will replace outgoing Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

If confirmed, Burwell is to replace the acting OMB director Jeffrey Zients. The president of Wal-Mart Foundation, the charity arm of the retail chain, was a member of Clinton’s economic team and had served as former OMB director Jack Lew’s deputy and as White House deputy chief of staff under Erskine Bowles. She will face the challenging task of dealing with the ongoing automatic budget cuts facing the government.

McCarthy is replacing former EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson. Obama said he believes McCarthy, currently the head to EPA’s air and radiation office, would help promote renewable energy programs.

The three nominees still face Senate confirmation before officially assuming their posts.

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