Hillary Clinton’s circle insists any real talk about who might join her in the White House and in her Cabinet if she wins the November election is far too premature.

But that hasn’t stopped the conversations.


There was former Rep. Barney Frank telling Vice President Joe Biden he should be Clinton’s Defense secretary (“He made a face,” Frank said, in an interview off the convention floor last week in Philadelphia). There was former Attorney General Eric Holder looking right at Clinton running mate runner-up Tom Perez at one of the Maryland delegation breakfasts as he told the crowd, “if you elect Donald Trump, Chris Christie or Jeff Sessions will be your attorney general,” according to a person in the room, but “if, on the other hand, you elect Hillary Clinton, I know exactly who it should be.”

Few of the discussions have been aired quite so publicly. It’s mainly Clinton advisers and allies starting to size up possibilities, top Democrats in Washington and beyond batting names back and forth, wondering with varying levels of certainty about who might go where.

Still, Democrats hovering between cautious optimism and nervous confidence over the look of a prospective Clinton administration, are starting to put together names.

They factor in Clinton’s promise to have a Cabinet that’s at least 50 percent female if she’s president, and the thin bench of prominent Democratic politicians — which could make it difficult to assemble a better-known first-term Cabinet like those George W. Bush and Barack Obama put together. Clinton’s history of surrounding herself with people she’s had long relationships with, and the balance of potential continuity with the Obama administration versus the need to chart her own direction are additional factors.Then there are more abstract but equally important considerations, such as, perhaps, wanting to appoint the first openly LGBT Cabinet secretary and other diversity considerations.

Here’s POLITICO’s rundown of some of the most prominent chatter, based on conversations with top Democrats, people who speak regularly to Clinton and her senior aides, as well as leaders in their respective fields.

Chief of staff

Most people see this as a choice between Cheryl Mills, Clinton’s chief of staff at the State Department, and Tom Nides, Clinton’s deputy secretary of state for management. Both have remained close to Clinton, with Mills acting as part of the extremely small inner circle on the running mate decision, and Nides as one of the closest outside advisers. Mills, notably, would be the first female White House chief of staff as well as the first African-American, and is seen as one of the smartest and most trusted people in Clinton’s orbit. But she’d also face at least outside questions about her judgment on the email server and other issues that came up at State. Nides would have the advantage of many long relationships in Washington, which Clinton is said to value in an expected effort to focus more on outreach to Capitol Hill than Obama did.

Also very much in the conversation, however: Tom Vilsack, the only Cabinet secretary to have remained in the same spot for all eight years under Obama. He’d come at the job with that experience in Agriculture and in Washington, his political experience as governor of Iowa, and perhaps most importantly, his deep relationship with the Clintons. That all made him the dark horse late in the running mate search — but people who know Vilsack wonder whether he’d be interested in going back to a staffer role, however prominent.

Press secretary

Brian Fallon, who’s also done time at the Department of Justice and with incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, is seen as the likely choice.

National security adviser

Jake Sullivan, who worked for Clinton at State and then as national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, is seen as having first dibs on this job if he wants it. But with the expanded portfolio he’s built up on Clinton’s campaign over the past year, some believe he might go for a more amorphous senior adviser role in one of the other offices along the hallway to the Oval Office.

Senior advisers

In addition to Sullivan, most see a mix here that could include Minyon Moore, one of the aides with the longest and deepest relationship with Clinton; Jennifer Palmieri, who’s rocketed up in her trust and closeness with Clinton since joining the campaign after a run as Obama’s White House communications director; closest aide of all, Huma Abedin; and Neera Tanden, an adviser with deep ties to Clinton who is now president of the Center for American Progress, the outside think tank founded by Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Tanden is also seen as a potential domestic policy adviser, a role that could also be filled by senior campaign policy advisers Ann O’Leary and Maya Harris. Campaign manager Robby Mook and political engagement director Marlon Marshall are also speculated to have senior roles with Clinton if she’s elected.

Secretary of State

For obvious reasons, this is seen as the job Clinton will think about most — potentially empowering the pick, or potentially leading to an extra level of oversight at Foggy Bottom from the West Wing. Clinton’s seen as being intrigued by having a person in the role who has experience in elected office, but there’s no obvious contender from the House and Senate (except for current Secretary of State John Kerry, whom people expect would leap at the chance to stay on, though probably would suffer from Clinton wanting to have her own pick in this job most of all). People at the State Department and elsewhere are pulling for Wendy Sherman, the former undersecretary of state for political affairs and a key player in the Iran nuclear deal, and Bill Burns, a career diplomat who was deputy secretary of state.

Nick Burns is seen as being in the mix as well, a career foreign officer who rose to undersecretary of state for political affairs in Bush’s second term and has been a strong defender of Clinton in the campaign. Kurt Campbell, Clinton's assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has expressed interest to several people. Strobe Talbott, the friend of the Clintons and a deputy secretary of state during Bill Clinton’s first term and now the president of the Brookings Institute, is also seen as a possibility. Or Clinton might go for a surprise like James Stavridis, the admiral who was the only nonpolitician to be vetted for her running mate.

Defense secretary

The far and away favorite here is Michèle Flournoy, who was talked about for the job the most recent time Obama had an opening and would be the first woman in the position. She led defense transition planning for Obama, was then his undersecretary of defense for policy and has since started the Center for a New American Security. Also on the list: Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, who’s talked about for this job pretty much every time it comes open, and Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. Some see an outside shot here for Eric Fanning, Obama’s new secretary of the Army.

Treasury secretary

The list here is long and complicated. The Elizabeth Warren-Bernie Sanders axis is watching this appointment for proof of Clinton’s commitment to the progressive economics she’s been talking up on the campaign, while business leaders and Republicans are worried about exactly that. The sense among people in the know is that Clinton would want someone with some private sector though not Wall Street experience, to have the competing perspective on regulation. There’s considerable speculation here that Clinton would try to land Sheryl Sandberg, who spent years at Treasury before heading to Silicon Valley and becoming COO of Facebook, to be the first female Treasury secretary. Gary Gensler, who served in a variety of economic roles for Obama and Bill Clinton and is now CFO for the campaign is seen as wanting the job, as is Lael Brainard, another Treasury veteran who’s now on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Some see a potential transition here for current Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, though the expectation is she’d want a break after her years working for Obama. Also bouncing around on some lists: Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council under both Bill Clinton and Obama, who remains close with the Clintons, advises the campaign and even starred in a funny video knocking Trump that was played at the convention. There’s also been some talk of Clinton best friend and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe here, though that might enrage the left — and would also entail his leaving current job a year early.

Attorney general

Tom Perez wanted this job and was considered for it in the process that led to Loretta Lynch, and that interest still appears to be alive and well. He’d be a prominent carryover from the Obama administration, where he was credited internally for helping push forward on executive action while also keeping good relationships with the Hill. In an important prerequisite for this job, he has developed a trust and rapport with Clinton, which had a lot to do with his unexpectedly strong showing in the veepstakes. There’s some thought that Janet Napolitano, the former Arizona governor and state attorney general who left as Obama’s homeland security secretary after years of waiting to be attorney general, might want back in from her current job running the University of California system. Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who previously served as her state’s attorney general, is seen as a possibility, as is Tony West, the former No. 3 in Obama’s Justice Department, and Jamie Gorelick, a former deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton. There’s also some speculation that Vilsack, who’s a lawyer but has never held a position focused on the law in government, could fit here. Preet Bharara, the hard-charging United States attorney in New York, has long been seen as having his eyes on this job — but people close to Clinton point out that he might have proved himself a little too hard-charging and independent to be someone she’d want in this job.

Tom Perez is seen as a likely candidate to become Clinton's Attorney General.

Energy secretary

John Podesta got pulled back in as an adviser to Obama, and then as Clinton’s campaign chairman. What do you get for the man who’s done all that and has already been White House chief of staff? He’s seen as having his eye on this job, which would allow him both to get his hands deep into an area he’s grown passionate about over the years, and to live not as a staffer, but as a principal himself — and one who presumably would have a lot of latitude in a Clinton administration to make his own decisions.

Education secretary

John King just took over the job this year, leading many to believe that he’d be a perfect candidate for a holdover into a Clinton administration. He was Arne Duncan’s No. 2, and before that the state commissioner in New York. Just-departed D.C. schools chancellor Kaya Henderson is also seen as a contender here, as is King’s predecessor as deputy, Jim Shelton. And outgoing Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, meanwhile, has had his eyes on this job for years.

Commerce secretary

Many see this as McAuliffe’s more likely eventual landing spot, but he’s not the only one. Export-Import Bank president Fred Hochberg is seen as interested and, in addition to the experience he’d bring, is gay. Then there’s the list of business executives who’ve been in their jobs for long enough to be looking at retirement — a bill that could be fit by a person like General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, a registered Republican who chaired Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Cabinet member contender Terry McAuliffe cheers on Clinton at the Democratic National Convention.

Health and Human Services secretary

If Clinton wins, this would be a central job, tasked with cementing Obamacare and getting through a potential next stage of problems and expansion. Insiders are at a loss to think of an obvious candidate to do it, though. There’s some speculation that former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who oversaw one of the most successful state implementations in a reliably Republican state, could be a possibility, though some around Clinton suggest that this might be a good spot to lean more toward an inside player than a familiar face. That has some conversations tilting toward Tanden, a key player on Obamacare during its development and passage.

Transportation secretary

Moving further down the list of prominent Cabinet spots, fewer specific names are being discussed — and the conversations tilt even further into speculation — but two of the names that have been floated: former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who was considered for this position under Obama and just headed a successful convention effort for his party, and Federal Aviation Administration head Michael Huerta.

Housing and Urban Development secretary

Nutter’s also discussed as a possibility here, because Clinton and her aides are thought to be interested in emphasizing cities and drawing on urban experience. That’s also led to some conversations about former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who came into politics as a housing advocate, has represented several public housing developments in office, and has been working with the campaign.

Labor secretary

Granholm is seen as a fit here, too: Like Perez under Obama, she’d be someone with reliable liberal credentials who could help both in developing policy and as a surrogate and a salve to the left. Some on the Hill are already pining for Ed Montgomery, a deputy Labor secretary under Clinton and a member of Obama’s auto task force.

Interior secretary

John Hickenlooper is thought to be a consideration. Like Obama’s first Interior secretary, Ken Salazar, he comes from Colorado and did well enough in the vetting for running mate that he got an interview with Clinton. His history on fracking, though, may be a killer with environmental groups.

Homeland Security secretary

Though obviously one of the more important jobs in the administration, the idea of who would fill it stumps people. The most common name brought up here is Martin O’Malley, who has experience that could fit into the position, but most expect that his aggressive attacks on Clinton during his presidential campaign that never got off the ground, coupled with his refusal to endorse her for months, has sunk him in Clintonworld.

Agriculture secretary

Most people paying attention haven’t gotten anywhere near this far down the list of possible Cabinet picks. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow is mentioned, but without any sense so far of serious consideration.

Veterans Affairs secretary

If Rep. Tammy Duckworth doesn’t win the Illinois Senate seat that she’s favored to take from Mark Kirk, she could be in discussion again. She is, after all, a former VA assistant secretary who was talked about as a possibility after Eric Shinseki resigned. The depth of bureaucratic disaster that Bob McDonald’s been digging out from might make this a position where Clinton could opt for continuity, and he hasn’t been on the job long. But Sloan Gibson, the current deputy secretary and a former USO CEO who served as interim secretary between Shinseki and McDonald, might make a reasonable bridge himself. There’s also the chance that Clinton might opt for someone recently out of uniform (as Shinseki was) though with all that’s come to light about the problems in the agency, there’d probably be more emphasis on specific departmental management in making the pick than there was when Obama went in that direction.