Updated 2:31 p.m. By Shailagh Murray and Matthew Mosk President-elect Barack Obama's campaign finance chairman and longtime friend Penny Pritzker will not seek the job of commerce secretary, she said in a statement released today. "Speculation has grown that I am a candidate for Secretary of Commerce. I am not," she said in the statement, which was released by her press aide. "I think I can best serve our nation in my current capacity: building businesses, creating jobs and working to strengthen our economy. It has been my great privilege to serve in the Obama campaign. I look forward to helping our new President in every way possible and am excited about the future under his leadership." Pritzker also told CNN's Don Lemon this afternoon that she "never submitted any information for the vetting process to begin." "I have obligations here in Chicago that make it difficult for me to

By Al Kamen Incoming first lady Michelle Obama has tapped Jackie Norris, President-elect Barack Obama's Iowa state director, to be her chief of staff. Norris, a high school government and history teacher and longtime Iowa Democrat, was Vice President Al Gore's Iowa political director in the 2000 presidential campaign and was finance director for future Iowa governor Tom Vilsack in 1998. Norris is half of one of Iowa's premier political couples. Her husband is Iowa political honcho John Norris, who was Sen. John Kerry's state director during Kerry's 2004 presidential run and had been Vilsack's chief of staff. John Norris also ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2002.

By Carrie Johnson Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) just appeared on the Senate floor to declare his support for Eric H. Holder Jr., the leading candidate to become the next attorney general. Leahy said this afternoon that Holder "would bring the kind of leadership, temperament, experience and judgment we need to restore the rule of law and rebuild the reputation of the Department of Justice so that it is worthy of its name," adding: "I think this choice would be welcomed by career professionals and prosecutors and that he could do a great deal to restore morale as well as the rule of law." Holder has yet to be formally announced by the Obama-Biden transition team as its nominee at Justice. But sources close to the selection process say he is a near certainty to be named if the vetting proceeds as expected. Leahy publicly broadcast his support

By Chris Cillizza Anita Dunn, one of Barack Obama's closest political advisers, is returning to her media consulting practice -- bypassing the chance to serve in the first incoming Democratic White House in more than a decade. "After the privilege of participating in this historic campaign I look forward to returning to my firm and bringing the fresh approach to strategic communications developed on the Obama campaign to new projects," Dunn told the Fix last night. "It is a unique opportunity to build on that experience." Dunn's decision comes on the heels of the announcement by the Obama transition team that David Axelrod, a longtime campaign operative, would be leaving his Chicago media firm in order to serve as a senior adviser in the White House. Dunn's connection to Obama goes back to the president-elect's first race for U.S. Senate in 2004 when she was the lead consultant for one

Anita Dunn, one of Barack Obama's closest political advisers, is returning to her media consulting practice -- bypassing the chance to serve in the first Democratic White House in nearly a decade. "After the privilege of participating in this historic...

By Paul Kane Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) won the vote, 137-122, to become the new chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defeating the legendary Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.). The vote came a day after the House Democratic steering committee recommended Waxman for the post in a narrow 25-22 vote. The powerful Energy panel, with jurisdiction over health care, energy issues and telecommunications policy, will play a significant role in moving much of President-elect Barack Obama's agenda in the 111th Congress. "It's the mantra of the Obama election. People want change," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who supported Waxman. "He'll work best with the new administration." Senior Democrats were stunned by the Waxman victory, which seemingly dealt a blow to the party's long-held principle of seniority. "It's just been buried," Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said of seniority. Despite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's