U.S. Army Captain Michael Kelvington, commander of the Battle company, 1-508 Parachute Infantry battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, bows next to remains of Gulam Dostager, a member of Afghan Local Police who was killed in the blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during the joint Tor Janda (Black Flag in Pashtu) operation, in Zahri district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan May 25, 2012.  REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov  (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Reuters Photojournalism

Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more | Photo caption 

Members of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan as part of the 25th annual Fleet Week celebration in New York, May 23, 2012.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: MILITARY ANNIVERSARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Fleet Week

The U.S. Navy takes Manhattan for a week.  Slideshow 

Photo

The SpaceX mission

A privately owned unmanned rocket blasts off on a mission to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.  Slideshow 

FACTBOX: Barack Obama's proposed Cabinet

Related Topics

Related Video

Wed Jan 21, 2009 6:25pm EST

(Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Senate is seeking to quickly confirm President Barack Obama's Cabinet nominees.

Here is a look at the status of the picks for his 15-member Cabinet of department heads.

* Hillary Rodham Clinton, secretary of state, confirmed by the Senate on January 21, by a 94-2 vote. Since 2001, she has been the junior U.S. senator from New York.

* Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Confirmed without dissent on January 20. She previously served as Arizona governor.

* Arne Duncan, secretary of the Department of Education; unanimously confirmed on January 20. Previously served as Chicago school superintendent.

* Steven Chu, secretary of the Energy Department; confirmed unanimously on January 20. A physics Nobel laureate, Chu previously headed Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

* Tom Vilsack, secretary of the Agriculture Department; confirmed unanimously on January 20. He is a former Iowa governor.

* Retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs; confirmed unanimously on January 20.

* Ken Salazar, secretary of the Interior Department; confirmed unanimously on January 20. Previously served as Democratic senator from Colorado.

* Eric Holder, who served as deputy U.S. attorney general in the administration of President Bill Clinton, has been picked by Obama to be attorney general. Republicans blocked until next week a preliminary vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

* Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, to be treasury secretary. He had a hearing on Wednesday before Senate Finance Committee, and the committee is expected to vote on him on Thursday.

* Obama decided to keep Republican President George W. Bush's defense secretary, Robert Gates, at the Pentagon.

* Tom Daschle, nominated to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. A former Senate Democratic leader, he is awaiting a confirmation hearing before Senate Finance Committee.

* Democratic U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis of California to be secretary of the Labor Department; confirmation hearing held; Date not yet set on vote.

* Shaun Donovan, New York City housing commissioner, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban development; confirmation hearing held; no date yet set on vote.

* Former Republican U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois, secretary of the Transportation Department; confirmation hearing held on January 21; sent to full Senate for confirmation.

* Obama needs to nominate a secretary of the Commerce Department after his first selection, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdraw in face of a legal inquiry.

(Compiled in Washington by Thomas Ferraro, Donna Smith and Richard Cowan; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.