Penny Pritzker

(Newser) - President Obama will name a longtime fundraiser to run the Commerce Department and a top economic adviser as the next US Trade Representative, according to a White House official. Commerce nominee Penny Pritzker, a businesswoman, philanthropist, and Hyatt hotel heiress, is Obama's final pick to fill vacancies among Cabinet...

(Newser) - Washington notables are still scrambling for an invitation to the White House state dinner Tuesday in honor of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh. The event, to be held in a heated tent on the South Lawn, will display who’s truly on Obama’s A-list, and the lobbying for a...

(Newser) - The hotel heiress Barack Obama was seriously considering as commerce secretary has taken herself out of the running, the Chicago Tribune reports. Penny Pritzker—whose family empire includes Hyatt hotels, casinos, and banks—led Obama's record-breaking fundraising effort, but the vetting process bogged down for “business reasons,” an...