TRANSITION WATCH

HUSTLER: With 4,000 jobs soon to be available in a Clinton Administration, some of the fastest footwork is now being performed by Capitol Hill insiders . . . and no one is showing more hustling than Rep. Dave McCurdy (D-Okla.). The 42-year-old chairman of the House Intelligence Committee is pressing for a top national security position, possibly in the Pentagon. The tip-off: he recently requested--and was granted--a full briefing from the No. 2 civilian official in the Defense Department, Donald Atwood.

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HOT PURSUIT: Among those known to be aggressively pursuing other top jobs is former Michigan governor James J. Blanchard, who wants to be White House chief of staff. He’s close to Clinton and chaired his successful Michigan campaign. “He could be Clinton’s John H. Sununu,” a source started to say before thinking better of it. . . . Others looking for Administration work: Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.), for envoy to the United Nations. “She’s got some sort of good reaction from Hillary Clinton, who she’s good friends with,” says a Democratic activist. Also hoping for the post is former ambassador to Italy Richard Gardner, a Columbia University law professor. . . . Clinton confidante Susan Thomases is said be seeking to be deputy attorney general. Close to Hillary Clinton and considered smart and politically astute, she handled scheduling and some policy in the campaign. Former San Antonio Mayor Henry G. Cisneros is being mentioned for secretary of commerce or trade representative. Being on the Clinton transition team gives him a leg up. . . . Nevada Gov. Robert Miller is a candidate for secretary of the Interior. . . . And Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro has been mentioned for energy secretary. He ran Clinton’s campaign in Texas, but his chances already may be doomed: After a bank seized his personal account last week, Mauro acknowledged that he is nearly bankrupt. He said that he may owe the government more than $4 million because of sour business deals.

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DEFENSE: The widely touted front-runner for defense secretary is Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), Congress’ 800-pound gorilla on military matters. But the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee may be eyeing something more lofty: secretary of state. . . . He’s not making an open push for it, but aides note a series of Nunn’s 1991 floor speeches on the need for economic security in a troubled world--a prime Clinton theme. Another top prospect for defense secretary is Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), Nunn’s House counterpart and an analytical “whiz kid” in the Pentagon during the 1960s.

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DON’T INHALE: There’s no relief in sight for the nation’s top-ranked allergy sufferer. When he finally sets up shop in Washington, a city that is nestled in a semi-tropical swamp, Bill Clinton will get a face-full of everything he’s used to at home and then some, allergists say. . . . The new President can continue to take his antihistamine, Hismanal, to stave off symptoms and get shots to reduce the irritation. As for his chronic bouts with hoarseness, there is only one hope, and it is a long shot--prolonged silence.