Obama nominates 3 to Cabinet-level posts

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama filled in more pieces of his second term leadership team Monday, nominating a trio of new advisers to lead the Environment Protection Agency, Energy Department and budget office.

The nominations signal the White House's desire to get back to normal business after the president and Congress failed to avert the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that started taking effect Friday.

While the President has warned of dire consequences for the economy as a result of the cuts, the White House does not want the standoff with Congress to keep Obama from focusing on other second term priorities, including making nominations for top jobs and pursuing stricter gun laws and an overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Two of Obama's new nominees will also focus on another second term priority — tackling the threat of climate change. To head that effort, Obama promoted current Environment Protection Agency official Gina McCarthy to lead the agency and scientist Ernest Moniz to run the Energy Department.

"They're going to be making sure we're investing in American energy, that we're doing everything we can to combat the threat of climate change, that we're going to be creating jobs and economic opportunity," Obama said of McCarthy and Moniz. "They are going to be a great team."

Obama chose Wal-Mart's Sylvia Mathews Burrell as his next budget chief, thrusting her into the center of Washington's heated partisan budget battles. (AP)