Brookings has long been a part of presidential transitions, whether by advising and staffing incoming administrations, or offering recommendations to improve the process. Many members of the incoming Obama administration have participated in Brookings events and publications.
| President Barack Obama |
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February 8, 2006: Then-Senator Barack Obama delivered the keynote address at an event to launch the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project.
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September 18, 2007: The Tax Policy Center and Brookings's Opportunity 08 project hosted then-Sen. Obama for a speech on the economy, opportunity and tax policy.
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| Vice President Joseph Biden |
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August 22, 2007: Then-Senator Joseph Biden addressed the Iraq War at an Opportunity 08 forum in Reno, Nevada.
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February 15, 2007: Senator Biden delivered remarks on the Iraq War.
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| Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State |
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February 25, 2004: Then-Senator Clinton described how visits to Afghanistan and Iraq shaped her views on fighting terror and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
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| Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense |
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May 5, 2008: Robert Gates, the 22nd U.S. secretary of defense, delivered remarks to the Board of the Brookings Institution at a dinner held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
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| Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture |
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October 10, 2007: Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack delivered the keynote addressat the third Bernard L. Schwartz Forum on U.S. Competitiveness.
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| Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor |
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November 15, 2007: U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis took part in an event examining trends in marriage and childbearing in the Hispanic community and what actions policy-makers and practitioners can take to strengthen Hispanic families.
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| Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security |
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November 21, 2008: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano participated in a Brookings event on Sun Corridor metro areas.
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| Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama |
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April 25, 2007: Rahm Emanuel, then chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, joined Brookings for a conversation about politics, government and the implications of the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys.
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| James B. Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State |
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James Steinberg was dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin, a Brookings nonresident senior fellow, and a former vice president and director of Foreign Policy at Brookings. He is the co-author of the new Brookings book Difficult Transitions: .
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| Ron Sims, Nominee, Deputy Secretary of Housing |
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Ron Sims, executive of King County (Seattle), Washington, has participated in numerous Brookings conferences on metropolitan areas and infrastructure.
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| Peter R. Orszag, Director, White House Office of Management and Budget |
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Peter Orszag was a former Brookings senior fellow, director of the Hamilton Project at Brookings, and then director of the Congressional Budget Office.
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| Leon E. Panetta, Director, Central Intelligence Agency |
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November 7, 2008: Leon Panetta, director of The Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy and former White House Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, spoke at the first Brookings Presidential Transition event.
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December 3, 2004: As chair of the Pew Oceans Committee, Panetta spoke at a Brookings briefing on the future of oceans policy.
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| Lawrence H. Summers, Director, National Economic Council |
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Lawrence H. Summers, who is a Brookings Board of Trustees member, has spoken on numerous occasions to Brookings audiences, most recently in September 2008 on the turmoil in the financial and housing markets.
See all Summers remarks at Brookings »
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| Jason Furman, Deputy Director, National Economic Council |
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Since early 2007, Jason Furman was a senior fellow and director of The Hamilton Project at Brookings, where he succeeded new OMB Director Peter Orszag. His research covered many areas including tax and fiscal policy, the mortgage market and U.S. poverty.
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| Austan Goolsbee, Council of Economic Advisors |
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December 3, 2007: At an Opportunity 08 forum, Austan Goolsbee, an economic advisor with Obama for America, discussed Sen. Obama's health care plan.
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