Change.gov - The Official Web Site of the The U.S. Presidential Transition

Today, President-elect Barack Obama nominated superintendant of Chicago schools Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education.

Vice President-Elect Joe Biden today announced the following staff for the Office of the Vice President: Jay Carney, Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Communications; Elizabeth Alexander, Press Secretary to the Vice President; and Annie Tomasini, Deputy Press Secretary to the Vice President.

Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced key members of his energy and environment team, including Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy; Lisa Jackson, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator; Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ); Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; and Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change.

Below is a statement from Obama Transition Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer.

WASHINGTON—In this week’s Democratic Radio Address, President-elect Barack Obama announced that he will nominate Shaun Donovan, currently New York City Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development, as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

President-elect Barack Obama released a statement today, expressing his disappointment “that the Senate could not reach agreement on a short-term plan for the auto industry.”

President-elect Barack Obama officially nominated former Senator Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health and Human Services and named him the Director of a new White House Office on Health Care Reform. Dr. Jeanne Lambrew, who authored a book about health care reform with Daschle, will serve as Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

President-elect Obama called for the United States to stand up for human rights, “by example at home and by effort abroad,” to commemorate Human Rights Day.

The Obama Transition team launched its new “Open for Questions” tool today on Change.gov. This new tool will allow anyone to ask and vote on questions they have for the Transition team.

President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will be meeting with former Vice-President Al Gore in Chicago to discuss the impact of energy and climate change issues on the economy.