Obama to nominate Charlotte Mayor Foxx as next Transportation secretary

Published April 28, 2013

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  FILE: August 31, 2012: Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx speaks during an open house for the public to view the venue for the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable arena in Charlotte, N.C.REUTERS

President Obama will nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx on Monday to be his next secretary of Transportation, the White House said Sunday.

“As mayor of one of America’s most vibrant cities, Anthony Foxx knows firsthand that investing in world-class infrastructure is vital to creating good jobs and ensuring American businesses can grow and compete in the global economy,” the White House said in a statement.

As Charlotte mayor, Foxx, a Democrat, led efforts to improve the city’s transit infrastructure.

He was elected mayor in 2009 and was re-elected in 2011.

Foxx was a member of the Charlotte City Council from 2005 to 2009.

The former private-practice lawyer is a graduate of Davidson College and earned a law degree from New York University.

Foxx is Obama's first black nominee among the new Cabinet members appointed for the second term. The president faced criticism early in his second term for a lack of diversity among his nominees.

He will replace Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who said in January that he would not stay for a second Obama term.

The official insisted on anonymity to avoid public discussion of the pick before the official announcement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Obama to nominate Walmart's Sylvia Matthews Burwell for budget chief

WASHINGTON –  President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Walmart's Sylvia Mathews Burwell as his next budget director, a senior administration official said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Burwell would take the helm at the Office of Management and Budget at a time of heated budget battles between the White House and congressional Republicans. She would also bring more diversity to Obama's second-term Cabinet following criticism that many top jobs were going to white men.

The president will announce Burwell's nomination during a White House ceremony Monday morning, said the official, who requested anonymity in order to confirm the nomination ahead of Obama.

Burwell is a Washington veteran, having served as OMB's deputy director in the Clinton administration and chief of staff to former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Burwell currently runs the Walmart Foundation, the retail giant's philanthropic wing, and previously served as president of the Gates Foundation's Global Development Program.

The official credited Burwell with being a principal architect of a series of budget plans in the 1990s that led to a budget surplus.

Burwell's nomination signals that the White House is trying to get back to normal business after the president and Congress failed to avert $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that took effect Friday. While the president has warned of dire consequences for the economy as a result of the cuts, the White House does not want to the standoff with Congress to keep the president from focusing on other second-term priorities, including filling out his Cabinet and pursuing stricter gun laws and an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Obama made quick work of filling key national security openings in his administration, but has been slower to fill other Cabinet openings, including the OMB post. Vacancies also remain at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commerce and Energy Departments, and the U.S. trade representative.

Burwell would replace acting OMB director Jeffrey Zients, a well-liked figure in the Obama administration, who has been discussed as a contender for other top jobs.

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