alternatehistory.com

January 12, 1969

Humphrey assembles his cabinet

With just a week before his inauguration, President-elect Hubert Humphrey announced his selections to head important cabinet posts. About half of Johnson’s appointees will be retiring at the end of his term, which will cause some vacancies that need to be filled. The remaining half of holdovers will continue to serve during the transition.

Returning to serve in the Humphrey administration are several recently-appointed members of the Johnson cabinet. These holdovers are Treasury Secretary Joseph W. Barr, Defense Secretary Clark Clifford, Postmaster General W. Marvin Watson, Commerce Secretary C.R. Smith, HEW Secretary Wilbur J. Cohen, HUD Secretary Robert Coldwell Wood, and UN Ambassador James Russell Wiggins. [1]

The other half of the cabinet members will be replaced by new appointees. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach will be appointed as Secretary of State. [2] Deputy Attorney General Warren Christopher will be appointed as Attorney General. [3] Undersecretary of Labor James J. Reynolds will be appointed as Secretary of Labor. [4] Consumer advocate Ralph Nader will be appointed as Secretary of Transportation. [5] Congresswoman and Chairman of the Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee Julia Butler Hansen (D-WA) will be appointed as Secretary of the Interior, making her the first woman to hold that position and only the second woman in American history to serve in the Cabinet. [6] Lastly, Roland Renne, [7] former President of Montana State College and Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs under President Kennedy, will be appointed as Secretary of Agriculture. [8]