President Obama, whom Republicans like to tag as a tax-and-spend liberal, has challenged every member of his Cabinet to slash more than $1 million per day from the cost of running the government. The president said that the federal government has a “confidence gap when it comes to the American people,” a gap that could be narrowed if it would cut $100 million over the next 90 days. Read.

Pamela on Politics: Day 14 of the Obama administration had its ups and downs.  The day began with the president’s announcement of his pick for Commerce secretary and ended with two Cabinet picks pulling out because of perpetual tax problems.

 The U.S. Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton as secretary of State Wednesday after a one-day delay forced by Republicans, which served as a hint that – despite all the warm and fuzzy moments exchanged between political parties on Tuesday – there’s still plenty of inter-party divisiveness to go around. The vote was 94-2, and spectators seated in the galleries erupted in applause when it was announced. Also confirmed on Wednesday was Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner, who apologized for failing to pay $34,000 in taxes. But things didn’t go so smoothly for Eric Holder, Obama’s choice as the nation’s top prosecutor. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee extended debate, under Senate rules, to block an immediate vote on Holder’s appointment as U.S. attorney general. So far, seven of Obama’s Cabinet picks have been confirmed.

Bush says he was a good civil rights president. President Bush says America shouldn’t forget about his contributions to civil rights. While acknowledging that Sen. Barack Obama’s election portends a “very hopeful moment for race relations,” the president pointed to such programs as No Child Left Behind education law, which he called “a piece of civil rights legislation” and his push to overhaul Social Security, saying it was aimed at giving Blacks a greater stake in the nation’s future. Read what else he had to say here.

Some Black lawmakers are unhappy with Obama’s cabinet picks. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have not publicly expressed it but The Hill.com is reporting that some Black lawmakers are disappointed with President-elect Obama’s picks for his cabinet and the way he went about it. “People I’ve talked to have expressed that they were hoping to have seen a few more African-Americans in place, and in places where you can pinpoint needs,” Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill) said. He pointed to a notable absence of Black nominations to positions that specifically deal with policy on urban problems like education, housing, labor and improvement of cities. Another aide, speaking anonymously, said CBC members are not questioning the qualifications of Obama’s nominees but they expected two things: “a better consultation and communication process and, at the end of the day, more blacks in the Cabinet,” reports the Hill.com. Only one member of the CBC, Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), has released a statement commending Obama on his nominations. She praised the President-elect for picking Steven Chu, an Asian American, to head the Energy Department. So far, Obama has selected four African Americans to his cabinet.

Obama’s Cabinet is taking shape. President-elect Barack Obama is wasting little time in putting together an administration to lead the nation over the next four years. On Wednesday, he named former Gov. Tom Vilsack as his agriculture chief and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar as his honcho at the Interior Department. “It is time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that’s committed to using our lands in a responsible way to benefit all of our families,” Obama said in a news conference, his third this week to announce new appointments. But, ironically, Obama’s selection of Salazar, the second Hispanic named to his Cabinet (New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce secretary is the other) left the U.S. House of Representatives with even fewer Latinos than before, USA Today’s Kathy Kiel pointed out Wednesday. Although Latinos, the nation’s largest minority group, make up 14 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise only 5 percent of the House seats, she writes. Even Obama’s departure from the U.S. Senate, while a landmark move for African Americans, left the upper chamber of Congress without a single Black senator. In the surge to get his team in place, Obama chose Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, FOX News reports.  Schapiro, who runs the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (the largest non-governmental regulator for securities firms doing business with the public) also has served as chairwoman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and she spent six years as a member of the SEC. Obama also is expected to name Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood, a moderate Republican who often criticized President Bush and conservative party leaders, as his Transportation secretary, FOX reports. In addition, the station says, Michigan Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm is the front-runner to win the labor secretary nomination.

Obama names another rival to his Cabinet. President-elect Barack Obama named New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce secretary on Wednesday, placing a second former campaign rival in his new Cabinet, The Associated Press reports. “We have everything we need to renew our economy; we have the ingenuity and technology, the skill and commitment – we just need to put it to work,” Obama said during his announcement, sounding a hopeful tone about the economy. Read the rest here.

No administrative post is planned for McCain. President-elect Barack Obama and his former rival, Republican Sen. John McCain, met Monday in a 40-minute session at Obama’s transition headquarters in Chicago and discussed where they could work together to better America, according to press reports. Read the rest here.

Obama’s Cabinet is taking shape. A number of observers have begun to make predictions about whom the next president will appoint to Cabinet and other positions in his administration. Barack Obama will receive his first highly classified briefings from intelligence officials later today as news of who will shape his transition team trickles out. He has been given an official transition office in Washington, and some key members of the transition team are in place as they look to build an administration before his inauguration on Jan. 20. The transition is being headed by John Podesta, former chief of staff to Bill Clinton, Pete Rouse, who was Obama’s Senate chief of staff and close friend Valerie Jarrett. Former presidential candidate John Kerry and billionaire Warren Buffet have been mentioned as possible Cabinet candidates. While there’s no confirmation from the Obama officials, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago) is apparently weighing an offer from President-elect Obama to be his chief of staff; he apparently is hesitating, because of family considerations, but still expected to take on the challenge, according to press reports. Still, he is expected but will have a hard time turning down the call of a president. According to individuals close to Obama, he might appoint Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) as HHS secretary and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) as USDA secretary, The Associated Press reported Monday. The Politico reports that other names mentioned for HHS secretary include Tom Daschle, Howard Dean and former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. For McCain, economics adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin would likely be offered a top domestic policy post.