Ken Salazar's name was briefly floated as a possible vice presidential pick for Hillary Clinton but will instead lead her transition team. | Getty Salazar to lead Clinton’s transition team

Former Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who served as President Barack Obama’s secretary of the interior and whose name was briefly floated as a possible vice presidential pick for Hillary Clinton, will chair the Democratic nominee’s transition team, the Clinton campaign announced Tuesday.

Veteran Clinton aides Maggie Williams and Neera Tanden will serve as transition co-chairs, alongside former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose name has also been floated as a potential future chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.


Both parties’ nominees are expected to put together transition teams ahead of the election. Transition planning is one area where Clinton has lagged behind Donald Trump, who named New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as his transition chairman back in May.

Clinton’s new transition group will be based out of Washington, D.C., and work with the Democratic nominee to generate a list of potential cabinet secretaries, as well as lower-level positions throughout the administration, in order to ensure a smooth transition into the White House if Clinton wins. The group will also be responsible for mapping out policy priorities for a potential Clinton administration.

“These individuals, who bring a deep level of experience in the work of presidential transitions, will help us build a team that is ready to govern after the general election,” campaign chairman John Podesta – who served as co-chair of Barack Obama’s 2008 transition team – said in a statement.

Two of the Clinton’s top campaign policy advisers, Ed Meier and Ann O’Leary, will also shift from their jobs at the Brooklyn headquarters to work full time on the transition team. Heather Boushey, executive director of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will serve as the group's chief economist.

The group will be run by some of Clinton's most loyal and trusted hands. Williams has been part of Clinton’s inner circle for decades and served as the former first lady’s chief of staff in the White House. In the 2008 primary, Williams took over as Clinton's campaign manager after her devastating defeat in Iowa.

Tanden, current president of the Center for American Progress, served as a senior policy adviser to Clinton’s 2008 campaign and worked on Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. Granholm, a senior adviser to the pro-Clinton PAC Correct the Record, has been a frequent television surrogate boosting Clinton throughout the campaign.