Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm speaks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
LANSING, MI -- Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who burst onto the national stage in September with a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention, may soon be back in the spotlight.
CNN and Politco report that Granholm is being considered for a cabinet post in the Obama administration.
The president recently nominated Sen. John Kerry to serve as secretary of state, and word broke this weekend that he plans to address two looming vacancies by nominating former Sen. Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense and counterterrorism advisor John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
More vacancies may pop up in the near future. Politico reports that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson are expected to depart. Attorney General Eric Holder has not made his plans clear.
Politico also reports that Granholm, along with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and outgoing North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad, are part of "a growing list of people the administration is looking to find spots for." The report suggests Granholm might be a fit for attorney general should Holder leave.
Carole Polan Love, a spokeswoman for the former governor, declined to comment on the cabinet speculation, noting that Granholm "is currently focused on winding down her Current TV show and at this point, we don't know much about what's next."
Granholm announced last week that she would be leaving the cable network, which was sold to Qatar-based Al Jazeera. Her show launched in January of 2012.
Cabinet speculation is nothing new for Granholm. She's twice been linked to the energy secretary position, first in 2008 when Obama began setting up his first-term cabinet and again in 2010 when rumors swirled that Chu may resign.
Granholm, who continues to teach at the University of California-Berkley, briefly served as a senior advisor on clean energy policy for the Pew Charitable Trusts, but resigned the position to work on television. She's also written about energy policy for the Huffington Post.
Before working as Michigan governor from 2003 through 2010, Granholm served as the state's attorney general.
Jonathan Oosting is a reporter for MLive Media Group's statewide news team. Email him at joosting@mlive.com or follow at twitter.com/jonathanoosting.
