NEI Nuclear Notes

The parlor game of cabinet speculation continues... The Houston Chronicle lobbies for their hometown Mayor. The next secretary of energy needs expert understanding of the fossil fuel industry — without being owned by it or wedded to its dominance. This official must shepherd America from dependence on oil, and toward alternatives, without crippling the economy. As mayor of the nation's conventional and alternative energy capital, Houston Mayor Bill White is uniquely qualified for this post. He has the executive experience, having served as deputy energy secretary for President Bill Clinton; he is also a warrior against pollution and environmental depredation, who was nevertheless backed by Houston's energy industry and has long worked on guiding Houston's economy to greater diversity. The Politico is reporting that former eBay SVP, Steve Westly , is " emerging as a strong dark horse candidate for energy secretary. " Westly co-chaired Cleantech and Green Busin...

With the announcement of the new Secretary of Energy possibly occurring this week, two more names have been scratched off the shortlist. Per The Kansas City Star , Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has removed her name from consideration . “Given the extraordinary budget challenges facing our state and my commitment to continuing the progress we’ve made in Kansas, I believe it is important to continue my service as governor of the great state of Kansas,” Sebelius said. And in a succinctly titled Washington Post piece up at The Fix , Chris Cillizza reports that " Dorgan Won't Be Energy Secretary ." Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) is no longer under consideration to be secretary of energy in President-elect Barack Obama's administration, according to transition officials. The decision was arrived at based on a belief within the former Illinois senator's inner circle that the plains state Democrat is more valuable to them where he is. "Senator Dorgan would be a fan...

The Hillary to State speculation drew most of the attention this weekend, but there was some Energy news. The AP is reporting that New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson has been named to the Obama-Biden transition team on Energy . Jackson joins Robert Sussman, a former deputy Environmental Protection Agency administrator, and 11 others. They will conduct a department review to provide Obama and key advisers with information they need to make policy, budgetary and personnel decisions prior to the inauguration. Per the Obama transition site , Jackson has been named a Team Lead for the EPA Review. Other Team Leads include Cecilia V. Estolano , CEO of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles , and Robert Sussman , a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress . Some did play the cabinet parlor game this weekend: in the pages of Newsweek , Slate.com 's Jacob Weisberg lobbies for Al Gore to become Energy Secretary . The genius principle should ...

With the possible exception of Redskins-Monday-Morning-Quarterbacking and the Veep stakes , few DC parlor games attract more interest than guessing who will fill a new president's cabinet. Towards that end, we'll be feeding the frenzy (chumming the waters?) these next few weeks by passing along pundit speculation; paying special attention to the position of Energy Secretary. From a Washington Post online chat earlier today, Energy Wire 's Steve Mufson weighed in. At the Energy Department, a lot of people have mentioned to me Gov. Ed Rendell from Pennsylvania. I’m not sure why he would want to do that, but there it is. The department mostly handles nuclear weapons and waste issues. The energy policy bit is smaller and largely about setting appliance standards. One new task it will have: Promoting carbon capture and storage so that coal plants won’t emit huge amounts of greenhouse gases. That might create a desire for an expert in that area to be deputy secretary, maybe s...

Add a new name to the list: the AP offers up former Indiana Congressman Philip Sharp . Sharp is currently serving as president of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Resources for the Future . And in a feature titled " The New Team ," The New York Times fills in the backstory of an Energy Secretary candidate first reported by the Washington Post 's Steve Mufson last week: (Ret.) General James L. Jones . Click here for more NNN coverage on who will be in the Obama Cabinet .

Politico's Mike Allen reports that Robert F. Kennedy Jr . is being "strongly considered" to head the EPA. NBC's Political Director, Chuck Todd , knocked down the story earlier this morning on MSNBC . (Apologies, no transcript or video available.) Jim Efstathiou at Bloomberg.com is reporting a very different short list, The names most mentioned by officials at leading U.S. ecology groups include Kathleen McGinty , the former secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection , Mary Nichols of California's Air Resources Board and Ian Bowles of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection . Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas was cited as a "wild card'' choice by a person familiar with transition issues. Click here for more NNN coverage on who will be in the Obama Cabinet .

Time to scratch a name off your Energy Secretary candidate list? ABC 's Jake Tapper and Martha Raddatz are reporting that retired Marine General James L. Jones has emerged as the leading candidate to serve as the National Security Adviser for President-elect Obama . The former head of NATO and U.S. forces in Europe, Jones is currently president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy . A move to the NSA could provide synergies with the work done at the ITCE ; where energy policy is viewed as integral to national security. Click here for more NNN coverage on who will be in the Obama Cabinet .