WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s likely third pick for commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a senior administration official said Monday.
Locke, a Democrat, was the nation’s first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005.
Obama’s expected choice of Locke arose less than two weeks after his most recent pick, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, backed out. Just over a week after Obama named him and he accepted, Gregg cited “irresolvable conflicts” with the policies of the Democratic president.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made.
The Commerce Department post is typically not one of the more high-profile jobs in any administration. The head of the department oversees agencies responsible for the once-a-decade census, for oceans policy and for many aspects of international trade, among other things.
The administration recently took steps to assert greater White House control over the census. The outcome of the census has deep political implications, since congressional districts are drawn on the basis of population.
Locke, 59, was born into an immigrant family and lived in a Seattle public housing project until he was 6. He graduated from Yale University, which he attended with a combination of scholarships and financial aid, and Boston University Law School.
Locke was briefly linked to the scandal over foreign contributions to President Bill Clinton’s 1996 campaign. But investigators later found no evidence that Locke knowingly accepted illegal campaign donations.
He lists among his accomplishments as governor a package of tax breaks that persuaded Boeing to assemble its new 787 jetliner in Everett, north of Seattle, and expanded transportation and construction budgets.
