Obama announces agriculture, interior picks

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Obama announces agriculture, interior picks
« Thread Started on Dec 17, 2008, 11:36pm »

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Obama announces agriculture, interior picks
Posted: 12:58 PM ET
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday tapped former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as the next agriculture secretary and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as the next interior secretary.

Vilsack was a high-profile supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton during the presidential primaries after he briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination.

He has championed the development of ethanol, an alternative energy, in Iowa — something that coincides with Obama’s vision for an energy-independent future, and something he can promote from the Department of Agriculture.

Salazar, Colorado’s former state attorney general, is a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and has developed a reputation as a strong advocate of reducing the country’s dependence on foreign oil.