Obama to fill key
cabinet posts Monday

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) - President-Elect Barack Obama will hold a news conference in Chicago Monday morning, and he will fill some key cabinet posts. He will name his national security team, and it will include Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

The Obama-Clinton rapport is hard to imagine not long ago, but as with his economic team, Obama will look to signal steadiness and strength on United States foreign policy, too.

With some in India calling the Mumbai attacks their 9-11, the threat of terrorism in nuclear Asia adds fresh urgency to Obama’s security picks. The sure headline is Obama’s choice of his former rival Clinton as Secretary of State. She looked ahead Sunday at a church in New York.

"Move forward with confidence and optimism into the future that awaits," said Sen. Clinton.

Obama will also ask Republican Bob Gates to stay on as Defense Secretary and name retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Jones as National Security Adviser. A key Senate Republican approved.

"I think they're excellent selections," said Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana. "I think it will be a strong team."

Clinton's selection took intense work behind the scenes. Lawyers for both Obama and Bill Clinton negotiated ground rules for the former president, whose global initiative raises massive sums to fight disease, poverty and climate change.

"You'll want to make sure that the spouses' business dealings did not present a conflict when it came to our relationship with a particular country," said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Clinton agreed to name more than 200,000 contributors, clear all of his future engagements with the administration and bar donations from foreign governments. Some speculate Bill Clinton could serve Obama himself as a potential mediator between India and Pakistan.

"I think he could do a great job there," said Lugar.

There are other appointments expected, such as Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano to head Homeland Security, former justice official Eric Holder as Attorney General and Obama Foreign Policy Adviser Susan Rice as U.N. Ambassador. Assuming his choices are confirmed, Obama’s cabinet will include strong personalities who have clashed with him before: Gates on Iraq and Clinton on Iran, choices bound to test a young president's ability to lead.