Having been reelected, President Obama has a series of important appointments to make over the next couple months. The Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury have all indicated their intentions to step down in the coming months after serving during President Obama’s first term.

The selection of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s replacement has gained national attention due to the possibility that UN Ambassador Susan Rice might have been selected to serve in the roll. Senate Republicans have promised to make her appointment process difficult due to the nature of her comments following the on the US Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Rice came under criticism from Senate Republicans for initially describing the attack as triggered by “a protest of an anti-Islam video outside the mission buildings” (CNN Political Unit) despite the attack being tied to militant Islamist groups. She has defended her initial portrayal of the events as being tied to the first intelligence reports out of Libya. In a letter to the President, she withdrew from consideration from the post because “the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly”. President Obama is now believed to favor “Senate Foreign Relations Committee head John Kerry to take over Hillary Clinton as secretary of state  during his second term” (Politi)

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is also leaving his position as soon as his successor is appointed. In a sign of bipartisanship, President Obama is believed to favor Chuck “Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska who is regarded as a moderate,” (Gearan and DeYoung).  While Warren Buffett wants “wants J.P. Morgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon to replace outgoing Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner” (The Wall Street Journal) it is commonly believed “that White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew is the favorite” (The Huffington Post) for the position. Wall Street favors Jamie Dimon so President Obama will send a signal to the finance industry as a whole with his selection of the next Treasury Secretary.

Works CitedCNN Political Unit. CNN Politics. 14 December 2012. 16 December 2012.Gearan, Anne and Karen DeYoung. National Security. 15 December 2012. 16 December 2012.Politi, Daniel. The Slatest. 16 December 2012. 16 December 2012.The Huffington Post. Business. 8 November 2012. 16 December 2012 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/jack-lew-tim-geithner-treasury-secretary_n_2095125.html>.The Wall Street Journal. Political Watch. 27 November 2012. 16 December 2012 <http://blogs.marketwatch.com/election/2012/11/27/warren-buffett-touts-dimon-as-next-treasury-secretary/>.