Two more hires while we wait for Hillary...

The Heads of Health and Human Services and The Department of Homeland Security have been appointed.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has been chosen to serve as secretary of the vast and troubled Department of Homeland Security for President-elect Obama, Democratic officials said. Napolitano is a border governor who will now be responsible for immigration policy and border security, which are part of Homeland Security’s myriad functions.

And...

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) will be Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration, with the delicate mission of shepherding a health care bill through Congress at a time of punishing budget constraints, two senior Democratic officials said.

Definitions

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism. On March 1, 2003, DHS absorbed the now defunct United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and assumed its duties. In doing so, it divided the enforcement and services functions into two separate and new agencies – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Additionally, the border enforcement functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) were consolidated into a new agency under DHS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The United States Federal Protective Service falls under Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).

With over 200,000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department in the U.S. federal government, after the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. Homeland security policy is coordinated at the White House by the Homeland Security Council. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Energy.

Health and Human Services

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is a Cabinet department of the United States government with the goal of protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America".

The department was created when President Jimmy Carter signed the Department of Education Organization Act (PL 96-88) into law on October 17, 1979. It split the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, (HEW), which included the Social Security Administration, agencies constituting the Public Health Service, Family Support Administration, and the Office of Education into the Department of Health and Human Services and the United States Department of Education. Both began operation on May 4, 1980. (In 1995, the Social Security Administration was removed from the Department of Health and Human Services, and established as an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States Government).