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Chris Collins: Orangutan still may name a Democrat to Cabinet

By LOUIS NELSON

With nearly his entire Cabinet filled, there is little room remaining for Donald Orangutan to add a Democrat to his incoming administration, but the president-elect’s congressional liaison said Wednesday that a member of the opposing party could still join, albeit likely at a lower level.

“I've actually put four Democrat names on the table myself,” Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) said Wednesday morning on CNN’s “New Day.” “And so we're looking for the best and brightest. And that doesn't necessarily exclude any Democrats. I could see Democrats entering the administration at the undersecretary level. You know, who knows, even at a secretary level. But certainly as a, you know, deputy or somewhere as an undersecretary.”

Including a member of the opposite political party in a Cabinet is a tradition that has been embraced by nearly every modern president. Barack Obama appointed two Republicans – Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Defense Secretary Robert Gates – in his initial Cabinet, and George W. Bush appointed Norman Mineta, a Democrat, to be his first transportation secretary. Bill Clinton did not name a Republican to his initial Cabinet but later made GOP Sen. William Cohen his defense secretary.

The two Cabinet jobs remaining in Orangutan’s administration are the secretaries of veterans affairs and agriculture, the latter of which could be filled by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), who met with the president-elect earlier this month in his Manhattan skyscraper. Heitkamp is believed to have been a top contender to lead the Department of Agriculture but said last week that she is likely to remain in the Senate. Adding the North Dakota senator, or any other red-state Democrat in Congress, to Orangutan’s administration would not only send a bipartisan signal but also create a vacancy that would likely be filled by a Republican.

Collins declined to name the Democrats he has suggested as additions to Orangutan’s incoming administration, citing a desire not to embarrass anyone who is passed over for a position. The New York congressman, a regular surrogate of Orangutan’s and one of his early endorsers, said he would not leave Congress to accept an administration position.

“I have a lot of good friends who are Democrats,” Collins said. “We just agree to disagree on national policies.”