Building 44

Federal agencies and the Obama transition | FULL COVERAGE »

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Raw Video: Obama Meets With McCain

Once campaign rivals, President-elect Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain sat down in Chicago Monday to discuss how they can collaborate on issues facing the country.

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Thus far, Obama's selections have been mostly a mix of Washington veterans -- many with ties to the Clinton administration -- and trusted campaign aides. Late last week, the president-elect named close friend and adviser Valerie Jarrett as a senior White House aide. Campaign strategist David Axelrod will also hold a senior advisory role.

Obama has not yet announced any Cabinet selections, although the meetings with Clinton and Richardson excited speculation that one was imminent, since both are said to be on his shortlist for secretary of state.

A transition aide said yesterday that it was too soon to say when Obama would begin making Cabinet selections.

In turning to Craig, Obama is tapping the lawyer who defended President Bill Clinton against impeachment charges. During the campaign, Craig became a close adviser to Obama, and he served as the stand-in for McCain during debate preparations. He did not return messages seeking comment, and transition officials declined to comment on his selection.

Craig was a foreign policy adviser to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and worked in the State Department for Madeleine K. Albright before being tapped as special counsel in the impeachment trial. A longtime partner at the firm Williams and Connolly, he has defended high-profile clients in criminal trials, including John W. Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, and Kennedy nephew William Kennedy Smith, who was accused of rape.

As White House counsel, Craig, 63, will be responsible for steering the new president through a series of legal thickets that have become controversial during the past eight years, including torture policy and the legal disposition of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He will also oversee White House vetting of potential appointees to the Supreme Court.

Rouse, 62, has spent more than three decades in top jobs on Capitol Hill and is one of Obama's most trusted advisers. He was part of the small cadre of people who counseled him through his decision to run for president.

Messina, a former aide to Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), is director of personnel for the Obama transition team and was national chief of staff for Obama's presidential campaign. Sutphen, also a member of the transition team staff, is managing director of Stonebridge International, a global consulting firm co-chaired by Samuel R. "Sandy" Berger, who was national security adviser to President Bill Clinton. Sutphen, a Foreign Service officer during the 1990s, worked in the Clinton White House from 1998 to 2000.

Staff writers Michael D. Shear, Chris Cillizza and Anne E. Kornblut contributed to this report.