Obama whittles down Homeland Security contenders

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who famously commanded the military’s response to Hurricane Katrina, says President-elect Barack Obama should choose a homeland security secretary with a thick resume.

“This will not be their first rodeo,” Honore said, declining to speculate on any contenders.

Appointing a homeland security chief with high-level political or military experience, sources say, is critical to bring together the department with a struggling image, a sprawling mission and a budget of about $50 billion.

Former Rep. Tim Roemer (D-Ind.), an early Obama supporter, is often mentioned as a contender. He campaigned in his home state, which unexpectedly swung for Obama – something the new administration might want to reward.

While Roemer hasn’t been in the thick of a crisis, he’s politically savvy and gained considerable homeland security expertise as a member of the 9-11 Commission.

James Lee Witt, who led Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration, is also frequently mentioned as a possibility to lead Homeland Security Department. Witt was legendary in handling hurricanes and other natural disasters – and the administration’s response to the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

Not many political appointees serve two terms, but his expertise was so much in demand that, when he asked for a new job, Clinton refused to let him go.

In response, Witt gained the authority to expand FEMA’s mission to include a program aimed at avoiding disasters including building hurricane resistant house and relocating families in flood zones.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who’s also bandied about as a candidate for attorney general or energy secretary, would bring administrative and political experience to the homeland security table, said Chris Battle, vice president of Adfero, who advised the Bush administration on creating the new agency after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Napolitano, a former state attorney general and U.S. attorney in Arizona, has experience with many facets of homeland security, particularly in working to secure the U.S. border with Mexico and to better equip the National Guard.

Other possibilities, drawn from the 9-11 Commission, include co-chairmen former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-Ind.), now the director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who’s on the board of directors of Hess Corp.

Former Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, a lawyer at WilmerHale who’s also been mentioned for attorney general, is still another possibility.

And Obama could also dip into the big-city ranks and tap New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly or Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, among others.

Others suggest that the president-elect, in one of the bipartisan gestures he has promised, reach into Republican ranks for Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the moderate ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.