Obama selects Pritzker for Commerce secretary

David Jackson, USA TODAY | USATODAY

WASHINGTON -- President Obama filled out his economic team on Thursday, nominating a long-time supporter and a top aide for the jobs of Commerce secretary and U.S. trade representative.

Obama picked Chicago business executive and political fundraiser Penny Pritzker for Commerce secretary and economic adviser Mike Froman for trade representative.

Describing both nominees as friends, Obama said Pritzker and Froman would work on what he called his top priorities: "To grow the economy, create good middle-class jobs (and) make sure that the next generation prospers."

Obama played up Pritzker's ties to the business community -- a group that has been critical of his administration -- but her nomination could face trouble over criticism from unions and her family's ties to a failed bank.

The Senate must confirm both Pritzker and Froman, neither of whom spoke during a brief ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.

Obama announced both nominations before departing on a three-day business trip to Mexico and Costa Rica, where trade and economic development are major agenda items.

Pritzker, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Obama's two presidential campaigns, is on the board of Hyatt Hotels Corp. Her personal fortune is estimated at $1.85 billion, and she is listed among the 300 wealthiest Americans by Forbes magazine.

"Penny is one of our country's most distinguished business leaders," Obama said in unveiling his nominee. "She's got more than 25 years of management experience in industries, including real estate, finance and hospitality. She's built companies from the ground up."

Pritzker's nomination, long-rumored, could draw fire from Obama's union supporters. Hyatt and the hospitality workers union have been involved in a long contract battle, and workers have protested the company's treatment of them. The AFL-CIO and other organizations have called for a global boycott of Hyatt properties.

Senators may also grill Pritzker over the 2001 collapse of family-owned Superior Bank, which specialized in sub-prime lending, and federal lawsuits against her family over Caribbean tax shelters.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said of the nomination: "Every nominee's offshore tax avoidance activities should be examined as part of the nomination process."

Obama considered Pritzker for Commerce secretary after his election in 2008, but she withdrew from consideration.

Noting that Pritzker turned 54 years old on Thursday, Obama joked: "So for your birthday present, you get to go through confirmation -- it's going to be great."

The Commerce Department has been led by Acting Secretary Rebecca Blank since John Bryson resigned last summer amid health concerns. Blank is leaving the administration to become chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pritzker worked as Obama's national fundraising chairwoman for the 2008 presidential campaign, using her extensive business connections to help catapult him into the White House.

In 2012, Pritzker had a lower profile. While she was listed among the more than 750 Obama bundlers who collected money from family, friends and associates for his re-election, she was not among the supporters who contributed to Priorities USA Action, a super PAC raising unlimited amounts to aid the Obama campaign.

Pritzker's relative absence was noted by Democratic insiders, particularly as Priorities USA Action struggled to raise money to compete with deep-pocketed Republican super PACs.

As for the trade post, Froman is a long-time friend of Obama -- they worked together on the Harvard Law Review -- and has served as the president's deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs. Obama said Froman has been the "point person" and the "driving force" behind more than a dozen international economic summits.

Citing their years together at Harvard Law School, Obama joked: "He was much smarter than me then -- he continues to be smarter than me now."

Froman also raised money Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008.

If confirmed by the Senate, Froman would replace Ron Kirk, who left the U.S. trade representative position earlier this year.

Obama noted that Froman worked with Kirk on new free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.

Critics of Obama's trade policies noted that, over the years, Froman has also backed such "corporate" deals as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and that many of these agreements have led to the transfer of manufacturing jobs to other countries.

"Folks on Main Street have cause for concern, unlike Froman's former Wall Street colleagues," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.

Obama touted Froman's trade record, saying, "Mike believes -- just as I believe and just as Penny believes -- that our workers are the most competitive in the world, so they deserve a level playing field."

Contributing: Fredreka Schouten