US media has reported that Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, seen here in 2007, will be asked to run the Department of Homeland Security. (AFP/File/Karen Bleier)From Yahoo News/Reuters:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Barack Obama is considering Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be U.S. Homeland Security secretary, heading a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defense in the wake of the September 11 attacks, a senior Democrat said.
"She's in the mix. She may be the front-runner," the Democrat told Reuters.
Napolitano, 50, is a former U.S. Attorney for Arizona and state attorney general, giving her law enforcement experience that the current secretary, Michael Chertoff, has said was a key qualification.
As governor of a state bordering Mexico, she also is closely involved in immigration issues which also come under the Homeland Security department's purview.
She was the first U.S. governor to call for the National Guard to assist with border security, at federal expense.
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