Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama filled out his Cabinet nominations on Thursday when he tapped Penny Pritzker as commerce secretary and Michael Froman as U.S. trade representative . At an event in the White House Rose Garden , Obama heralded his two nominees as leaders with `` extraordinary experience '' who are about `` growing opportunity '' for the American middle class . `` One of the reasons I 'm proud to nominate them is they do n't forget what matters , '' Obama said standing between the two nominees . `` They know this is not about just growing balance sheets , it 's about growing opportunity for people , it 's about growing a sense of security for the middle class . And most of all , they operate with integrity and they understand that that public service is a privilege and you 've got to do it right when you get involved on behalf of the American people . '' If confirmed by the Senate , Pritzker and Froman would both step into economic posts although they have noticeably different backgrounds . Pritzker , one of the wealthiest women in America , is an heiress to the Hyatt hotel fortune . She heads the investment firm PSP Capital Partners and an associated property firm , Pritzker Realty Group . Forbes Magazine pegged her net worth at $ 1.85 billion as of March . Pritzker is a longtime Obama donor who was national finance chairwoman of his 2008 presidential campaign and national co-chairwoman of the 2012 re-election effort . Along with donations she solicited from other elite contributors as a `` bundler , '' Pritzker personally gave the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee $ 63,500 in 2008 and $ 117,400 in 2012 , according to the Center for Responsive Politics . Froman is deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs . In that role , he has served as a liaison to global economic summits and advised the president on international finance . Before working for the White House , Froman was an executive at Citigroup and was chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in the 1990s . Froman also attended Harvard Law School with Obama and was the editor of the school 's prestigious law review . The president described Pritzker as `` one of our countries most distinguished business leaders '' and said Froman `` has established himself as one of the world 's foremost experts on our global economy . '' `` We went to law school together , '' Obama said of Froman . `` He was much smarter than me then ; he continues to be smarter than me now . '' The announcements come ahead of the president 's trip to Mexico and Costa Rica , where Obama said Thursday he hopes to `` deepen our economic and trade relationships across Latin America '' and `` offer our businesses growing markets where they can sell more American-made goods and services abroad. `` It 's unclear when the Senate will take up the nominations but they must first be addressed by relevant committees . Pritzker is likely to face questions about her finances . Sen. Charles Grassley , an Iowa Republican and a taxpayer watchdog , called for a Senate examination of her taxes in light of reports his office pointed to that suggested her family 's finances benefited from off-shore havens over the years . `` If the Commerce Committee does n't explore these questions with the nominee , I plan to do so , but I hope the committee will give the tax history a serious look , '' he said in a statement . If confirmed , Pritzker and Froman would replace acting secretaries . Rebecca Blank has served as acting secretary of the Commerce Department since June 2012 , She stepped into the role after John Bryson resigned less than two weeks after an episode involving a seizure and two traffic accidents . Bryson had been on a medical leave of absence since his involvement in the auto accidents in California that his office said were linked to the seizure . In his resignation letter , he said his seizure was a `` distraction from my performance as secretary '' and that the country `` would be better served by a change of leadership of the department . '' Ambassador Demetrios Marantis has served as acting U.S. trade representative since March 15 of this year , after Ron Kirk , a close confidant and regular golf partner to Obama , stepped down . With Thursday 's announcements , Obama will have nominated people to all vacant Cabinet posts for his second term . Four of Obama 's second-term nominations -- Secretary of State John Kerry , Treasury Secretary Jack Lew , Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell -- have already been confirmed by the Senate . A number of Obama 's nominations have yet to be voted on by the Senate . These include labor secretary nominee Thomas Perez , transportation secretary nominee Anthony Foxx and energy secretary nominee Ernest Moniz . CNN 's Dan Lothian and Jessica Yellin contributed to this report .
Obama nominates Penny Pritzker and Michael Froman for Cabinet posts . The announcement comes ahead of a trip to Mexico and Costa Rica . Pritzker , an investment firm chief , has an estimated net worth of $ 1.85 billion . Froman is Obama 's deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs .