Why does Obama keep raiding the Senate for his cabinet?

Not since FDR has a president transformed this many senators into secretaries

John Kerry
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

President Obama faces a large second-term turnover of cabinet members, and prominent names are being floated for all of the major positions — most notably Sen. John Kerry for secretary of state. Some Democrats have warned against the Kerry selection, as it could potentially result in the party losing his seat to a Republican like departing Sen. Scott Brown in a subsequent election. Indeed, such scenarios are among the reasons why sitting senators are so rarely chosen for cabinet positions.

The only recent president who appointed any sitting senators to his cabinet was Bill Clinton, who chose Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen to head Treasury. The Democrats then proceeded to lose that seat, and have never come close to contesting a Senate race in Texas since.

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Joshua Spivak is a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York, and writes The Recall Elections Blog.