Cabinet news stories on Newser

Greece Names New Cabinet

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:54:02 CST

Greece's new cabinet has been named, with Evangelos Venizelos retaining the key position of finance minister. The new coalition government, formed today, includes ministers from the country's two main parties—the Socialists who have governed for the past two years, and the conservatives—along with some from a smaller right-wing...

Syria's Cabinet Resigns Amid Unrest

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:18:09 CDT

Syria's Cabinet has stepped down, and President Bashar Assad accepted the resignation following a meeting today, according to state-run television. It's the latest concession by the government aimed at appeasing more than a week of mass protests. Assad is expected to address the nation in the next 24 hours to...

Iraq Confirms New Government

Matt Cantor — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 08:57:31 CST

Iraqi legislators ended 9 months of political deadlock today, unanimously approving a new government under incumbent prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, the AP reports. A March parliamentary election had left the country’s political future unclear; today, lawmakers chose 29 ministers to form a government, with acting ministers making up rest of...

Afghan Lawmakers Diss Karzai on Cabinet—Again

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:14:56 CST

Afghanistan's parliament today rejected more than half of President Karzai's second list of Cabinet nominees—including two of three women—dealing him a fresh political blow as his government struggles to face the growing Taliban threat. Two weeks ago, parliament rejected 70% of Karzai's picks. The rejections leave his government...

Bush Cabinet Member in Criminal Inquiry

Jason Farago — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:40:37 CDT

The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether Gale Norton illegally used her power as secretary of the Interior to obtain three oil contracts for Royal Dutch Shell—which only months later hired her as a legal counsel. The 2006 decision to award Shell leases on oil-rich federal...

Sanford Says He Won't Resign, Cites Bible

Nick McMaster — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:39:10 CDT

Gov. Mark Sanford apologized today to his South Carolina cabinet, the State reports, but said he wouldn’t resign and compared himself to the Biblical David. David “fell mightily, he fell in very significant ways, but was able to pick up the pieces,” said the Republican, adding that he was sorry...

Obama's Slow Vetting Leaves Agencies Empty, Stymied

Matt Cantor — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:48:07 CST

The Obama administration’s painstaking vetting of nominees for important positions has left many lower-level posts unfilled at a time of crisis, NPR reports. Some agencies lack appointees below Cabinet level—meaning, for example, that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is swamped as “pretty much the only Obama appointee with a desk...

Vetting Process Leaves Agencies Understaffed

Sarah Quinn — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:02:01 CST

President Obama’s nominee vetting process is making it hard for federal agencies to get to work on new projects, the Boston Globe reports. Of about 500 senior positions, only 70 have been filled. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the passage of the stimulus package “may exacerbate the consequences...

Sebelius Mum on HHS Post

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 14:54:01 CST

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, mentioned as a top candidate for health secretary, said today she has not talked with President Barack Obama about joining his Cabinet. "There really isn't anything to tell. I haven't had any meetings about the position," Sebelius, 60, said in an interview with the AP during...