New Cabinet Nominees Have Ties To Massachusetts

President Barack Obama has nominated two people with strong ties to Massachusetts to run the Energy Department and Environmental Protection Agency.

Obama on Monday promoted current EPA official Gina McCarthy to lead the agency and MIT scientist Ernest Moniz to run the Energy Department.

The 68-year-old Moniz, a 1962 graduate of Durfee High School in Fall River,  oversees MIT's Energy Initiative, a research group that focuses on innovative ways to produce power while curbing greenhouse gas emissions. He also served as the Energy Department's undersecretary in the Clinton administration.

McCarthy is a champion and a 25-year veteran of environmental policy and politics with degrees from UMass-Boston and Tufts.

Among her past bosses is former Massachusetts governor and Obama's Republican presidential opponent Mitt Romney.

All nominees must be confirmed by the Senate. (Associated Press)