Is Marsha Blackburn in Line for a Spot in the Donald Trump Administration?

WASHINGTON, DC — Is Marsha Blackburn the next Secretary of Commerce? After she was named to the executive committee of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, speculation about a possible Cabinet post surrounds the Williamson County Republican.

Considered a future star in the Republican Party since her election to Congress in 2002, Blackburn has made her bones outside the Beltway with frequent appearances on television and as a speaker at the Republican National Convention, particularly this year as she gave a vociferous endorsement of Trump. But she also pulls weight inside DC as the vice-chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Energy, which has some Middle Tennessee politicos guessing she could be tapped for Secretary of Commerce. Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has also been mentioned as a possibility for the post. Trump, a sometimes-associate of the McMahons, is a WWE Hall of Famer and is set to become the only U.S. President to be on the wrong end of a Stone Cold Stunner.

State Sen. Jack Johnson, a fellow Williamson County Republican, told The Tennessean he'd heard nothing firm on Cabinet possibilities for Blackburn, but confirmed "rumors going around," for whatever that's worth.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Corker, who has also been mentioned as a possibility for the Cabinet, said “should she wish to serve in that type of capacity, there might be several options that could well become available for her.”

A Blackburn spokesperson did not respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.

Blackburn's move to the executive branch would trigger a special election for her seat, which could come as early as March.