Casting: Law & Order: Special White House Unit

We all have loved Law & Order in one or all of its incarnations at some point in our lives. Maybe it was because of the special chemistry that existed between Jerry Orbach and Chris Noth/Benjamin Bratt/Jesse L. Martin as they tracked down the killers in the original. Maybe it was the knowledge that Mariska Hargitay is every bit as cool in real life as her character Olivia Benson is on the show. Maybe it felt like the whole first season of Criminal Intent was scripted by a Tennessee Williams wannabe so it felt like Vincent D'Onofrio was channeling Blanche DuBois to solve crimes. Maybe it was because, for at least the past ten years, one could turn on the television at any time of day or night and find at least one episode of the original, SVU, or Criminal Intent broadcast on basic cable (we don't acknowledge those odd, one season forays because, let's be clear here, for it to be Law & Order, it has to be in syndication).

So now Fred Thompson will probably be running for president. I don't agree with his politics, but I have loved watching him in James Bond films and on the small screen, and I must admit, this article in the New York Times gave me a giggle. They asked casting directors to cast the White House using characters/actors from the Law & Order world. Then they asked the readers to play along. I have read through all the comments and here is my list:

President: Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay)
Vice-President: Anita Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkerson)
Secretary of State: Nora Lewin (Dianne Wiest)
Secretary of Treasury: Ed Green (Jesse L. Martin)
Secretary of Defense: Arthur Branch (Fred Thompson)
Attorney General: Jack McCoy (Sam Waterson)
Secretary of Interior: John Munch (Richard Belzer)
Secretary of Agriculture: Ron Carver (Courtney B. Vance)
Secretary of Commerce: Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March)
Secretary of Labor: Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Odafin Tutuola (Ice T)
Secretary of Transportation: Claire Kinkaid (Jill Hennessey)
Secretary of Energy: Alexandra Eames (Katherine Erbe)
Secretary of Education: George Huang (B.D. Wong)
Secretary of Veteran's Affairs: Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni)
Homeland Security: Donald Cragen (Dann Florek)
Press Secretary: Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm)
National Security Advisor: Robert Goren (Vincent D'Onofrio)
Chief of Staff: Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon)

So, who would you cast? I'll admit, I am not 100% sure of some of my appointments (some positions were easier to cast than others).