Secretary of the Treasury

In the job: Timothy F. Geithner

Geithner was expected to stay through negotiations on the fiscal cliff, which ended at the start of the year. He is now due to leave at the end of January. This timeframe gives the White House a small window to name a successor before negotiations heat up on federal spending cuts and the debt ceiling.

Geithner's confirmation in 2009 took nearly a month and his successor could face equally tough going. The tax fight over the fiscal cliff was politically bruising and Republicans have long criticized the Obama administration's handling of the economy, especially on the shaky housing market and unemployment. Stimulus spending, corporate bailouts and Wall Street regulation are also sore points with conservative Republicans.

Nominated: White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew

In nominating Lew to be the next treasury secretary, Obama described him as "a low-key guy who prefers to surround himself with policy experts rather than television cameras."

Wall Street has some concerns about Lew, who has an extensive resume in and around government but little business experience. Geithner spent a good deal of his time on banking, Wall Street and bailout issues but Lew is known as a "numbers guy" whose extensive experience on budget matters and his knowledge of Congress appear to fit with the demands ahead on spending and debt issues.

The White House is under pressure to get Geither's successor in place before negotiations with Congress over the debt and deficit heat up. Geithner's confirmation in 2009 took nearly a month and Lew's could be bruising -- the tax fight over the fiscal cliff was politically bruising and Republicans have long criticized Obama's handling of the economy, especially on the shaky housing market and unemployment. Stimulus spending, corporate bailouts and Wall Street regulation are also sore points with many Republicans.

Secretary of Defense

In the job: Leon E. Panetta

Leon Panetta assumed his role as defense secretary in 2011 after serving as CIA director at the start of the Obama administration. A White House chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton, Panetta has said he would leave after Obama's re-election. But Panetta recently said he would stay on until the issue of military spending cuts is resolved and a plan is drawn up for winding down U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

Nominated: Former Sen. Chuck Hagel

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham characterized Hagel's nomination as "in your face," citing concerns among some fellow Republicans about Hagel's positions on Iran and Israel.

Hagel was opposed to unilateral sanctions against Iran and voted against labeling Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Some Republicans have expressed concerns about Hagel remarks in 2007 when he said the "Jewish lobby intimidated lawmakers."

Before he left the Senate in 2009, Hagel was a vocal opponent of George W. Bush's foreign policy and the war in Iraq, including the troop surge. But he also opposed the "surge" strategy in Afghanistan carried out by the Obama administration.

Hagel also faces opposition from gay-rights groups for a comment he made in 1998 in which he questioned whether a nominee for an ambassadorship was suitable because he was "openly, aggressively gay." He apologized for that remark last month.

Hagel is a decorated Vietnam veteran and a former investment banker. He sat on the Senate Foreign Relations, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Intelligence committees. He has remained engaged in public policy since leaving the Senate. He is chairman of the Atlantic Council and a professor at Georgetown University.

Attorney General

In the job: Eric Holder

Holder will remain in President Barack Obama's Cabinet for now, a White House official told CNN on January 9. It was unclear how long Holder would stay into a second term, but the official said he is not expected to leave in the near future.

Secretary of the Interior

In the job: Ken Salazar

Ken Salazar might be stepping down in Obama's second term but not because the interior chief reportedly threatened to take a swing at a Colorado reporter (for which he later apologized). Salazar may be opting instead to take a private-sector job in Colorado, where he and his wife care for their autistic granddaughter, Politico reported. If he does leave, his retirement will be one of three environmentally focused, secretary-level positions to see turnover in the Obama administration's second term.

Contender: David Hayes

The top spot at the Interior Department could go to Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes. In his current position, Hayes co-chairs the secretary's Energy and Climate Change Task Force. Hayes also headed the Interior Department's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill by managing day-to-day operational issues. Hayes was deputy secretary and counselor to the interior secretary in the Clinton administration and was chairman of the board of the Environmental Law Institute.

Other reported replacements include former Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and former Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire also finds her name on the shortlist.

Secretary of Agriculture

Thomas J. Vilsack

During his term as Agriculture Secretary, Vilsack has committed his time to a variety of issues from food stamps to resource conservation to first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative. Whether the former governor of Iowa continues in his post, however may turn on his wife, Christie Vilsack, who just lost her bid for an Iowa congressional seat. When asked if he would stay, Vilsack responded (http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/11/obama-re-election-does-not-mean-everyone-is-staying-for-a-second-term/), "I love my job." But if the USDA head goes, some of his circulating successors include former Sen. Blanche Lincoln or Sen. Kent Conrad. Recently re-elected Montana Sen. John Tester may also be up for the spot if Vilsack vacates.

Secretary of Commerce

In the job: Rebecca Blank (acting)

John Bryson resigned from the job in June after taking a medical leave of absence. A seizure caused the former CEO and president of Edison International to hit two cars in June while in California. In a letter to the president, Bryson said new leadership was needed because the events were distracting from the economy.

The post has remained vacant since.

Contender: Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg served as chief operating officer at Facebook for four years before she was named to the website's board of directors in June 2012. Her Facebook tenure followed positions as vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and chief of staff at the Treasury Department. The D.C. native is frequently the subject of profiles and tops influential lists and is one of few prominent women in the technology field. The business leader has said she would like to be in a position in which she is able to have the biggest impact, apparently leaving the door open to a position in government. On the campaign trail, Obama did say he wanted to create the post of secretary of business and Sandberg could be a contender for that post, too.

Secretary of Labor

Hilda L. Solis

Solis announced her resignation in a surprise letter to colleagues on January 9. Solis provided no date when she would step down, but Labor Department officials told CNN her departure is expected around the time of President Barack Obama's second inauguration.

Contenders

No potential contenders to replace Solis were immediately identified.

Secretary of Health and Human Services

In the job: Kathleen Sebelius

Sebelius is not expected to leave in near future, a White House official told CNN.

A former governor of Kansas, Sebelius has been tasked with implementing the Affordable Care Act and most likely will see it through.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Shaun L.S. Donovan

Donovan, who was sworn in during the home foreclosure crisis, has taken an increasingly large role in the administration, POLITICO reported. And while the publication says that Donovan may be up for the chief of staff position, that won't happen quite yet. Donovan was recently appointed the point person for Hurricane Sandy reconstruction effort after immediate emergency needs are met. Donovan served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development before accepting his current position.

Secretary of Transportation

In the job: Ray LaHood

Ray LaHood recently attended the grand opening of the first completed high-tech bus shelter in Monterey, California. The next day he delivered the keynote address at a distracted driving summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida. A few hours later, he joined New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials to mark the reopening of the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel after flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy.

LaHood doesn't look or sound like a man ready to walk away from the job he's held for four years. He made headlines in October 2011 when he announced he would step down after a first Obama term. He said he expected some "wonderful opportunities" in the private sector.

But in September, he seemed to leave the door open. He told reporters in Washington, "I'll always be grateful to the president for giving me this opportunity, and I owe it to him to sit down and talk after the election and see where it takes us."

The sole Republican in the Obama Cabinet, LaHood spent 14 years as a U.S. congressman from Illinois before becoming transportation secretary in 2009. LaHood has made it a priority to push for distracted driving safety laws. He also has been a strong supporter for the president's stimulus program.

Possible replacements

Some of the names widely reported as possible replacements for LaHood include Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and outgoing U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, an Ohio Republican.

Secretary of Energy

Steven Chu

Steven Chu's career has been dotted by highs like winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997 and lows like the $527 million Department of Energy loan to Solyndra, the solar panel maker that went bankrupt in August 2011, taking more than half a billion dollars of taxpayer money with it. The Solyndra loan was a political minefield for the administration.

Contender: Jim Rogers

Rogers was co-chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, the hometown of Duke Energy, for which he serves as CEO. Rogers will retire next year under an unusual agreement with state regulators examining the executive changes from Duke's merger with a rival company.

Contender: Cathy Zoi

No stranger to Washington politics, Zoi served as the chief of staff in the White House Office on Environmental Policy in the Clinton administration and as acting undersecretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the Department of Energy. Zoi was the founding CEO for former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. She currently works on an investment team as a partner in the Silicon Valley company Silver Lake, an investment firm that focuses on energy efficient technologies and businesses.

Contender: Kathleen McGinty

McGinty served as chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Clinton White House, as secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and as chair of the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority. She also founded Peregrine Technology Partners LLC, a company that specializes in the production and marketing of clean energy technology. She was considered as a possible Environmental Protection Agency chief after Obama was first elected in 2008 and before Lisa Jackson took the post.

Contender: Louis Hay III

Hay, the executive chairman of NextEra Energy Inc., an energy company focused on renewable energy, was recently elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute. Since Hay was just appointed to EEI in June 2012 and then assumed his role as chairman of NextEra the following month, that could be reason enough for him to forego the Energy job if offered.

Secretary of Education

Arne Duncan

Duncan, who served as secretary of education during all of Obama's first term, will not likely step down at the beginning of Obama's second term. During his four years in office, Duncan has worked on initiatives expanding Pell grants and working on reform efforts like Race to the Top program as well as Investing in Innovation. Duncan has also worked to improve relations between labor and management at a time when teaching labor unions have faced public fights from the right, including the Wisconsin effort to end collective bargaining. Before taking the top education spot, Duncan had served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools since 2001.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Eric K. Shinseki

Shinseki is expected to leave in the near future, a White House official told CNN.

Before taking the top job at the VA, Shinseki served in active duty for the Army from 1965to 2003, when he retired having reached the Army chief of staff position. Shinkseki, whose highly decorated Army career spans almost six decades, was nominated for the secretary's job in 2008, and sworn in at the beginning of 2009. His role has seen a number of challenges as veterans return from both Iraq and Afghanistan with a host of needs, ranging from treatment for physical and mental injuries to job placement as they leave the service to drug addiction and homelessness. Six days after the election, he pledged an ambitious plan to eliminate the claims backlog for veterans, as well as end homelessness by the end of 2015. Shinseki is also working to expand access to VA health care, according to the Army Times. The news organization also reported that Shinseki has talked of launching an aggressive mental health program to combat the high rates of suicide plaguing veterans.

Secretary of Homeland Security

In the job: Janet Napolitano

The quadrennial game of musical chairs is buzzing with guesses about whether Janet Napolitano will stay on for Obama's second term.

How does Attorney General Janet Napolitano sound? It's certainly a possibility if one reads the tea leaves. Attorney General Eric Holder has suggested he might be leaving.

Napolitano might be interested in Sen. John McCain's seat in 2016 or a possible Supreme Court nomination.

Possible replacements

Politico reports Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, could be in the running to fill Napolitano's position. The National Journal also suggested a list of possibilities: New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen and Bill Bratton, who ran the New York, Boston and Los Angeles police departments.