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Obama Names Locke As Commerce Secretary

RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:

Gary Locke, a former governor of Washington State. President Obama's first two choices for the job were New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Republican Senator Judd Gregg. They both withdrew.

BARACK OBAMA: But I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right. And Gary is the right man for this job.

MONTAGNE: President Obama's latest choice for commerce secretary, Gary Locke, is a Democrat and a second generation Chinese-American with long experience dealing with China on trade issues. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.