In naming a new White House counsel, President Obama is replacing one Democratic Party insider with another Democratic Party insider.

President Obama yesterday named former DNC finance chairman Philip D. Murphy to be U.S. ambassador to Germany, the latest in a growing list of political nominations to diplomatic positions.

The baby born to Obama team members Samantha Power and Cass Sunstein is but one illustration of the family ties binding the Obama administration.

Her position is obscure, but White House Staff Secretary Lisa Brown is one of the more powerful behind-the-scenes players in the Obama administration.

Word is that Herb Allison, a longtime Wall Street executive with ties to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, will be tapped to head the government’s $700-billion financial rescue program.

If Barack Obama and his family decide to summer in Oak Bluffs, as the Boston Globe reports they are considering, they would enjoy not just pristine beaches, but a social scene that includes some of the nation’s most successful black artists, thinkers and entrepreneurs.

From the outset of his political career, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was bullish about business.

At a time of continuing economic crisis, how many of Obama’s appointees have ties to labor groups, and how influential are they?

A Harley-riding economist has taken what may be the toughest job on President Obama’s auto task force – helping to rebuild the communities likely to be devastated by the industry’s downsizing.

Further signaling its shift away from the Bush administration, the Obama administration has nominated Harold Hongju Koh, the dean of the Yale University School of law, to be the top legal adviser at the State Department.

To save on travel expenses, the Harvard Law School Class of 1991 might as well have its reunion this year at the White House.

Michelle Obama has turned to a Harvard Law School connection to help her connect to Washington.

He is a law school friend of Obama’s and a successful, high-tech entrepreneur who looks to expand broadband service to rural and underserved areas, and to promote an open Internet and diverse media ownership.

Despite intense, behind-the-scenes lobbying by some Jewish groups, the Obama administration yesterday tapped veteran diplomat Chas W. Freeman Jr. to head the National Intelligence Council in what may be its most controversial appointment yet.

Ashton B. Carter is the Harvard physicist who first cast cold water on President Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” plan to build a missile shield to protect the U.S. from nuclear attack.

Just when you thought R. Hunter Biden’s retirement as a lobbyist had removed the possibility his business dealings might embarrass his father, comes a report that he and his uncle had business ties with Texas financier R. Allen Stanford.

Consider Earl Devaney a one-man corruption buster.

With the arrival of a new administration, Muckety decided to take a fresh look at Washington’s power couples. Here’s our take on the Capitol’s top 70 or so duos.

Muckety’s list of the top Washington power couples for 2009.

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire withdrew his nomination as commerce secretary Thursday, citing “irresolvable conflicts” with President Barack Obama over his stimulus plan and handling of the 2010 census.