WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Secretary of State nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton has tapped two Jewish deputies for the State Department.
The Obama-Biden transition team announced late Tuesday that Jacob Lew and James Steinberg will be Clinton’s chief lieutenants. Both positions are subject to Senate confirmation.
Lew, the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton, will reportedly focus on increasing the share of financing that goes to the diplomatic corps. The Bush administration had no such position. Steinberg was a deputy national security adviser in the Clinton administration.
Lew, an observant Jew, during the Clinton administration always left the office on Fridays in time to celebrate Shabbat.
