Obama nabs former GOP Rep. Northup as consumer safety spot

President Obama added another Republican to his administration late Thursday, announcing that he had nominated former Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.) to be a commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC).

Obama tapped the former five-term congresswoman for a spot on the CSPC in yet another addition of a Republican member of Congress to his administration.

Northup had served in Congress until her defeat in the 2006 Democratic landslides by now-Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.). Northup had also waged an unsuccessful bid for Kentucky’s governorship in 2007, challenging incumbent GOP Gov. Ernie Fletcher.

The nomination also comes on the same day that the House passed legislation to strengthen food safety laws.

Northup will join Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman from Illinois, and prospectively, Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.), who Obama selected to serve as secretary of the Army.

The president had notably chosen Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) to serve as Commerce Secretary as well, only to see Gregg back out shortly after his nomination.