President Barack Obama has turned to two of his oldest friends in politics to head his economic team by nominating Penny Pritzker as Commerce Secretary and Michael Froman as U.S. Trade Representative.
Heiress to Hyatt Hotels, Pritzker is a well-known businesswoman and philanthropist who has donated heavily in both of Obama's bids for president, according to the Associated Press. The Commerce Secretary position has been vacant since John Bryson resigned due to health issues.
Froman would be taking the place of Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas who resigned from the post in February. Obama and Froman have known each other since law school, in recent years Froman has been one of Obama's senior economic advisors.
The positions will require confirmation from the Senate.
"They've got a lot of work to do, and I intend to work them to the bone as soon as they're official," Obama said while announcing the nominations in the White House Rose Garden.
Assuming she is confirmed, Pritzker will become the fourth woman serving in the current Cabinet. Pritzker will also have the distinction of being by far the richest member of the Cabinet; Forbes estimates her wealth at $1.85 billion.
The nomination of Pritzker may prove controversial. Pritzker is on the board of Hyatt Hotels, a company co-founded by her father, and the hotel has had a history of poor relations with labor unions, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While serving on the Chicago Board of Education, Pritzker also butted heads with the Chicago Teachers Union. According to the Los Angeles Times, a union official said that Pritzker "has a long and storied history as an anti-labor and anti-worker kind of boss."
The transition to U.S. Trade Representative should be relatively easy for Froman; he has already served as Obama's representative for economic talks with the Group of Eight and Group of 20, according to the Associated Press.
"He has also won a reputation of being an extraordinarily tough negotiator while doing it," Obama said. "He does not rest until he's delivered the best possible deal for American businesses and American workers. He's fought to make sure that countries that break the rules are held accountable."
