As President Obama announced another choice on Monday for his second term Cabinet by choosing a new Secretary of Labor, one position in his Cabinet remains curiously unfilled, as it has for now for almost nine months.
That job is Secretary of Commerce, which was last occupied by John Bryson. He resigned because of health issues on June 21, 2012.
In the interim, Deputy Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank filled in as the Acting Secretary, the second time she had filled the post in the Obama Administration.
But on Monday, the University of Wisconsin announced that Blank had been offered the job of chancellor at its flagship in Madison. She is expected to move on by July.
Blank issued a press statement about her future job change; President Obama issued a statement lauding her service.
"Over the past four years I have asked Becky to take on several roles at the Department of Commerce, and in each one she has distinguished herself," the President said.
But nowhere was there any mention of a full-fledged replacement for the job of Commerce Secretary.
There were reports in early February that the President was eyeing Penny Pritzker, a member of the board of Hyatt hotels, as a possible choice to lead Commerce.
But no nomination has been made.
Having an "Acting Secretary" in charge of a Cabinet Department is not odd. For example, there is one right now at the Labor Department, since former Secretary Hilda Solis left in late January.
But usually, the vacancies don't last this long.
The longest period I could find in recent history was a 10 month gap in the job of Veterans Secretary back in 1997-1998.
This vacancy at the Commerce Department could eclipse that time frame, and depending on the nominee, it could even threaten the one year mark.
One thing the lack of a Commerce Secretary does provide - it amounts to money saved in this year's budget for the Commerce Department, since the $199,700 salary hasn't been paid at all this fiscal year, which makes dealing with the sequester a few dollars easier.
