Obama’s Cabinet took longer to fill than other recent presidents, stretching nearly his entire first 100 days. In an early showing of strength, Obama tapped former rival Hillary Clinton to be his secretary of state, though lingering animosities between their two camps created some problems.

The commerce spot was particularly fraught for Obama, who saw two of his nominees for the position fail. Obama withdrew his first choice, Bill Richardson, before Inauguration Day because of an ongoing “pay-to-play” investigation that an FBI background check found to be more serious than originally thought.

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His second pick, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), withdrew on his own terms before being officially nominated or subjected to Senate hearings, an early harbinger of Obama’s inability to forge the bipartisanship he promised in his campaign.

“I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times,” Obama said when naming former Washington governor Gary Locke to the position. “But I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right.” Locke was confirmed soon after his nomination was received by the Senate in March.

Health and human services secretary nominee Tom Daschle, the former Senate Majority Leader, also withdrew after the Finance Committee discovered his failure to pay more than $100,000 in back taxes.