Ghosts in the Cabinet
As confirmation hearings begin today for Trump's Cabinet nominees, Dems can indulge in a wistful game of "What Might Have Been." My post-election convos with Brooklyn survivors make it clear that Hillary staffers and supporters had astonishingly specific, widely known/accepted roles planned for her administration. "Measuring the drapes" is a cliché; a notional org chart is real life.
While Trump had to scramble to build a government starting Nov. 9, Clinton had a team in waiting. By Election Day, her roster was so refined that most jobs just had one name.
Here's her prospective Cabinet and West Wing staff, based on interviews with numerous Clinton insiders. We miss or botch something? Drop me a note at mike@axios.com, and I'll share your intel.
Ghost Cabinet:
Secretary of State: John Podesta, Bill Burns, Joe Biden
Deputy Secretary of State: Kurt Campbell, Wendy Sherman
Treasury Secretary: Sheryl Sanderg, Lael Brained
Defense Secretary: Michèle Floury
Attorney General: Loretta Lynch retained, Jennifer Granholm, Jamie Gorelick, Tom Perez
Commerce Secretary: Gregory Meeks, Sheryl Sandberg, Terry McAuliffe
Labor: Howard Schultz
HHS: Neera Tanden
Energy Secretary: Carol Browner
Education Secretary: Jennifer Granholm, John Sexton
EPA: Likely an African American (and/or at Education)
Budget Director: Gene Sperling
U.N Ambassador: Tom Nides, Wendy Sherman, Bill Burns
Director of National Intelligence: Tom Donilon
CIA Director: Tom Donilon, Mike Morell
SEC Chair: Gary Gentler
Big Jobs: Tom Vilsack, Cory Booker
Ghost West Wing:
White House Chief of Staff: Ron Klain
Deputy Chief of Staff: Huma Abedin
Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations: Sara Latham
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy: Maya Harris
National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan
Deputy National Security Adviser: Laura Rosenberger
Counterterrorism Adviser: Jeremy Bash
West Wing Climate Czar: John Podesta
Whatever She Wants: Jen Palmieri
East Wing: Capricia Marshall
Counselor: Philippe Reines
Senior Adviser: Robby Mook
Big Job: Leah Daughtry
White House Counsel: Karen Dunn
Deputy Counsel: Heather Samuelson
Ambassador to NATO: Derek Chollet
Ambassador to U.K.: Tom Nides, Anna Wintour
Ambassador to France: Marc Lasry
Ambassador to Ireland: Elizabeth Bagley
Social Secretary: Dennis Cheng
Deputy Social Secretary: Bryan Rafanelli
Political Director: Marlon Marshall
Speechwriting: Dan Schwerin, Megan Rooney
Press Secretary: Brian Fallon
Traveling Press Secretary: Nick Merrill
Deputy Press Secretary: Lily Adams
Communications Director: Kristina Schake
Deputy Comms Director: Christina Reynolds, Lori Lodes
Surrogate Communications: Adrienne Elrod
Staff Secretary: Rob Russo
Cabinet Affairs: Brynne Craig
Domestic Policy Council: Ann O'Leary
Some Other Council: Ed Meier
Scheduling: Lona Valmoro
Advance: Jason Chung
Trip Director: Connolly Weigher
Office of Administration: Charlie Baker
Chief of Protocol: Natalie Jones Callahan
DNC Chair: Tom Perez
WJC Chief of Staff: Tina Floury
WJC Deputy Chief of Staff: John Davidson
Chelsea Chief of Staff: Bari Lurie
Vice President Chief of Staff: Mike Henry
V.P. Deputy Chief of Staff: Matt Paul
V.P. Press Secretary: Amy Dudley
Presidential Inaugural Committee Chair: Capricia Marshall
Presidential Inaugural Committee co-E.D.s: Alex Hornbook and Brynne Craig
Mike Allen, AXIOS AMJohn Podhoretz's twitter comment:
John Podhoretz @jpodhoretz 5m5 minutes ago
Well, if John Podesta had been secretary of state, he would have shared his boss's lifelong commitment to securing his email
