Report: Arizona Gov. Napolitano To Serve As Homeland Security Secretary

November 20, 2008 7:11 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to serve as secretary of the Homeland Security department, according to reports.

Napolitano, the chief executive of the home state of Obama's Republican, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), is a member of the advisory board of the president-elect's transition team. Named one of the best governors nationwide by Time magazine in 2005 and praised for her reforms in immigration policy, she was also chair of the Democratic Party's 2008 Platform Drafting Committee.

The 50-year old Democrat, who is in the middle of her second term as governor, endorsed Obama in January.

Obama has yet to announce members of his Cabinet, but apart from Napolitano he has also reportedly chosen former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as secretary of Health and Human Services. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is currently being vetted for the role of secretary of State.

Obama on Wednesday announced that Daschle, who served as national co-chair of the Obama campaign, would head his transition team's policy working group on healthcare reform.