Obama rounds out cabinet with labor secretary pick

By Caren Bohan

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama has chosen California Democratic Rep. Hilda Solis as his labor secretary, a Democratic official said on Thursday, completing his major Cabinet appointments.

Solis could be formally presented on Friday in Obama's final wave of job announcements which have introduced key members of his administration that takes office on January 20.

The proposed Cabinet, whose members must be confirmed by the Senate, includes two former Obama rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton as secretary of state and Bill Richardson as commerce secretary.

It also includes Nobel Physics laureate Steven Chu as energy secretary and current Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who will keep his job.

Solis, 51, was first elected to Congress in 2000 and is considered a liberal. Of Hispanic origin, she represents a district dominated by Latino voters in Southern California.

The daughter of a union shop steward from Mexico and an assembly line worker from Nicaragua, Solis has led on both labor and environmental issues.

Obama is on schedule to complete most of his Cabinet picks by the end of the week before he leaves Chicago on Saturday for a family vacation in Hawaii.

He has chosen New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary and former treasury chief and Harvard University president Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council.