The Thanksgiving holiday is over and President-elect Barack Obama returned to compiling his cabinet Monday, starting with the expected announcement that U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be his nominee for secretary of state.

While Obama has yet to name any Oregonians to his incoming cabinet, three names have consistently come up in the political buzz regarding who will become the president-elect’s closest advisors.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland) has been popping up on a short list of names for the secretary of transportation post. Blumenauer founded the Congressional Bike Caucus and has been an advocate for alternative forms of transportation. He also worked closely with the Obama campaign during the general election; Obama never made a trip to the Beaver State during the fall, but Blumenauer was constantly on the ground acting as his representative.

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber has also been touted for two positions; secretary of health and human services and secretary of the interior. Kitzhaber lost out on the former last month after Obama appointed former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to the position, but there has still been no appointment for the latter. However, Kitzhaber faces some stiff competition for the interior position; after U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) lost out to Clinton for the secretary of state position, he was added to the short list for secretary of the interior.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) was rumored to be the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration up until a week ago when The Oregonian’s Jeff Mapes reported that DeFazio was uninterested. DeFazio, who sits on the House Transportation committee, has also been rumored to be on a short list for secretary of transportation.