With it becoming increasingly likely that Hillary Clinton is going to be nominated to be Barack Obama’s secretary of state, Bill Richardson’s name is popping up for another job: secretary of the Interior Department.
The Associated Press lists Richardson as a candidate for the job along with former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles and Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif. In such a role, Richardson would deal largely with western land issues about which he is already familiar. He would also deal extensively with the oil and gas industry and American Indian tribes.
Richardson’s spokesmen aren’t commenting on anything related to a possible job in the Obama administration. While Richardson has been angling for secretary of state, his name has also been mentioned for a few other roles, including commerce secretary, but the chatter about two — ambassador to China and interior secretary — is the loudest.