President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated longtime fundraiser and hotel magnate Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary and veteran aide Michael Froman as the U.S. trade representative (USTR).
He made the announcement before embarking on a three-day economic and security trip to Mexico and Latin America.
If confirmed, Pritzker, the daughter of the cofounder of the Hyatt hotel chain and a successful investor in her own right, will become the richest secretary in Obama's Cabinet and potentially the richest Cabinet secretary in U.S. history. She has a net worth of $1.8 billion, according to Forbes magazine, making her the 277th-wealthiest person on the Forbes 400 list.