Commerce Secretary: Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker
Senior Advisor: Chicago political consultant David Axelrod
Special Counsel: Former Director of Policy Planning in State Department Greg Craig
WASHINGTON - IT'S Washington's favourite parlour game during a presidential transition: trying to figure out who'll land a top spot in the new administration. President-elect Barack Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic officials.
Just like the stock market, names rise and fall weekly, some zooming to the top, others dropping out of contention. Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton suddenly is considered the top prospect for secretary of state, although other names remain in the mix. It looks like Mr Eric Holder, a former deputy attorney general in the Bill Clinton administration, is on track for becoming attorney general.
Some of those who are the subject of speculation already have been chosen by Mr Obama to serve as part of his transition team. For example, former Senator Tom Dashcle was picked on Wednesday to lead Mr Obama's working group on health care, the same day word surfaced that he's accepted Mr Obama's offer to serve as secretary of health and human services.
Some names being floated are surprising, such as former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell for education secretary. Others are high-profile governors or members of Congress. Many are also little known to the general public - and may remain so.
Defence Secretary
Current Defence Secretary Robert Gates, appointed by President George W. Bush.
Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig, appointed by President Clinton.
Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.
Democratic Senator Jack Reed, member of Senate Armed Services Committee.
Treasury Secretary
Mr Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, appointed by President Jimmy Carter.
Mr Lawrence Summers, former Clinton administration treasury secretary and one-time Harvard University president.
Secretary of State
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, former first lady and onetime rival of Mr Obama's for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Governor Bill Richardson, former UN ambassador and energy secretary under President Clinton.
Senator John Kerry, 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.
Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.
Mr Richard Holbrooke, former US ambassador to the United Nations under President Clinton.
Attorney General
Mr Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general under Mr Clinton.
CIA Director
Mr John Brennan, former director of the National Counterterrorism Centre under Mr Bush.
National Intelligence Director
Mr Tim Roemer, former Democratic congressman and member of the Sept 11 commission.
Representative Jane Harman, Democratic chairwoman of Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.
Mr Jami Miscik, the Central Intelligence Agency's deputy director for intelligence under Mr Bush.
National Security Adviser
Mr James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser under Mr Clinton.
Ms Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs under Mr Clinton.
Energy Secretary
Mr Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google, former assistant energy secretary under Mr Clinton.
Former Democratic Representative Philip Sharp, president of Resources for the Future think tank.
Democratic Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
Interior Secretary
Former Democratic Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.
Former Democratic Alaska Governor Tony Knowles.
Democratic Senator Ken Salazar, former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department.
EPA Administrator
Ms Lisa P. Jackson, Democratic commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Democrat Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.
Ms Kathleen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and head of the White House Office on Environmental Policy under Mr Clinton.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Democratic Representative James Clyburn.
Ms Renee Glover, head of Atlanta's housing authority.
Mr Nicholas Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Centre for Housing Studies.
Mr Shaun Donovan, commissioner of New York City's housing department.
Labour Secretary
Mr Ed McElroy, former president of the American Federation of Teachers. Former Democratic Representative Dick Gephardt.
Ms Linda Chavez-Thompson, former AFL-CIO union vice-president.
Representative George Miller, Democratic chairman of House Education and Labor Committee.
Former Democratic Representative David Bonior, member of Mr Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Mr Andy Stern, president of Service Employees International Union.
Ms Maria Echaveste, former Clinton White House adviser.
Office of Management and Budget Director
Mr Peter Orszag, former Clinton administration economist and director of Congressional Budget Office.
Education Secretary
Mr Colin Powell, former secretary of state under Mr Bush, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Former Democratic North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt.
Democratic Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.
Democratic Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius.
New York City schools chief Joel Klein, a Democrat.
Mr Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.
Mr Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent, a Democrat.
Ms Linda Darling-Hammond, education professor at Stanford University and Obama adviser.
Mr Jon Schnur, CEO and co-founder New Leaders for new Schools and Obama advisor.
Democratic House education committee Chairman George Miller of California.
Transportation Secretary
Ms Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration under Mr Clinton and Mr Bush.
Democratic Representative James Oberstar, chairman of House Transportation Committee.
Mr Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary under Mr Clinton.
Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio, member of the House Transportation Committee.
Agriculture Secretary
Former Democratic Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack.
Mr Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union.
Former Democratic Representative Charles Stenholm.
Mr John W. Boyd Jr of Virginia, president of National Black Farmers Association.
Veterans Affairs
Mr Tammy Duckworth, a disabled Iraq war veteran and Illinois veterans affairs director.
Former Democratic Senator Max Cleland of Georgia, a Vietnam veteran who had three limbs amputated after a grenade blast.
