Politico: Clinton campaign transition chief has pushed for TPP
The new chairman of Hillary Clinton's transition team has been an outspoken supporter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and works for a firm that lobbied for trade policy issues as recently as this spring, a review of congressional lobbying records and articles shows.
Ken Salazar, a former U.S. senator and secretary of the interior, praised the 12-nation Asia-Pacific trade deal late last year for its economic and environmental benefits. He called the pact the "greenest trade deal ever" and said it would help middle-class families get ahead.
"The TPP promotes and rewards American firms that export our clean energy ingenuity, creating good jobs at home while shaping a renewable energy future abroad," Salazar co-wrote in a USA Today op-ed in November alongside Bruce Babbitt, another former interior secretary.
The campaign announced Salazar's appointment earlier Tuesday. The transition team will work with Clinton to generate a list of potential Cabinet secretaries and fill lower-level positions. The decision to name Salazar, with his pro-free trade background, raises further questions around Clinton's anti-TPP stance as the former secretary of state has struggled to convince the liberal left that she will continue to oppose the deal if elected.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/ken-salazar-tpp-trade-227068