From Doug Palmer at Reuters:
NBC's local affiliate in the Dallas area reported on Sunday it had been told by an "extremely high level source" that [former Dallas Mayor Ron] Kirk was one of two finalists for two different administration jobs: U.S. trade representative and transportation secretary.
I couldn't find anything on the web about Kirk's views on trade.
ADDED: Ben Muse dug around and found this:
Kirk ran for the U.S. Senate in 2002. John Nichols reports for The Nation that Kirk said he would have voted against Trade Promotion Authority earlier that year: A Congressman's Defeat Spells Trouble for Business Democrats:
...As Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee executive director Howard Wolfson delicately explained, "(In) some districts in this country a free trade position is not helpful."Sawyer was not the first Democrat in recent years to discover those consequences. After voting for a previous version of Fast Track, California Rep. Matthew Martinez was defeated in a 2000 primary by labor-backed challenger Hilda Solis. And Rep. Ken Bentsen, a Houston Democrat who voted for the current Fast Track proposal when it came before the House last December, lost a March Democratic primary for an open U.S. Senate seat after his opponent, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, said he would have opposed Fast Track.
In this CNN Situation Room transcript from March 3, 2008, Kirk KIRK refers to the need to change the atmosphere in Washington to bring about a "more responsible trade policy." ("I love you, Congresswoman. You're a great friend. But the reality is people care more about believing and knowing that we're never going to get a health care bill. We're never going to have a more responsible trade policy if we don't change the climate in Washington.").
MORE: The Kirk rumor seems to have grown in importance, as there are now reports that Becerra is not going to take the job. CQ Politics also mentions another candidate:
... Democratic sources say Harold Ford Jr., a former congressman and Senate candidate from Tennessee who is chairman of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, could be a contender.
