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The rumors of who will be the future secretary of transportation in an Obama administration have centered on U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland), but some in the transportation world have been floating the name of a second Oregon congressman as well.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield), a senior Democrat on the House Transportation committee was mentioned in a report by Traffic World Online as a potential Obama appointee.

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Earl Blumenauer

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) sent an email to his supporters Tuesday to lay out the implications of last Tuesday’s election in Oregon, and how he looked forward to working with new members of Congress from both the Beaver State and across the country.

Oregon Democratic Party Chair Meredith Wood Smith had a mixed reaction to rumors Thursday that two Oregon Democratic politicians are being considered for posts in President-elect Barack Obama’s administration.

Political junkies throughout the country have been theorizing that Obama is considering former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber for Secretary of the Interior, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) as Transportation Secretary.

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber was a name listed as a possible appointee in an Obama adiminstration, should the Democratic nominee win the election on Tuesday night.

The Oregonian endorsed congressional candidate Kurt Schrader (D-Canby) in OR-5 Sunday, saying he was ready to serve Oregonians in Washington D.C.

At first glance, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) is the rare politician that has it easy come re-election time. He’s a popular Democrat facing nominal competition in bleeding-heart liberal Portland. If he wanted to, he could cruise through the November election without breaking a sweat.

U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) and David Wu (D-Portland) will both have the chance to address Democratic convention goers outside of the Oregon caucus on Tuesday by participating in discussions on policy issues.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) was enthusiastic about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) picking U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) as his running mate, even though he didn’t think the choice would have much of an effect on some of Oregon’s hotly contested races, including the U.S. Senate race and the congressional race in District 5.

All five of Oregon’s congressional representatives donated tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars, to their respective party congressional campaign committees, according to numbers released by the Federal Elections Commission Friday.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland)Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) attempted to debunk the idea that U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith stood up to the Bush Administration on Wednesday, saying that Smith doesn’t stand up to Republicans until he has to.

Smith recently released an ad last week, saying he stood up to the Bush administration on healthcare. Blumenauer said that defiance of the Republican president was an exception to Smith’s actions, not the norm.

“He’s not been at the forefront of change,” Blumenauer told PolitickerOR.com. “He only came along when it was safe. All of a sudden he has these last minute conversions. His environmental score doubled the year before an election year. Coincidence?”