President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet and Staff Nominees

[lpetrich]

The Toddler in Chief has refused to concede despite losing the electoral vote and despite the failure of several legal challenges. But President-elect Biden has nevertheless continued with getting ready to go.

We are now seeing a lot of speculation of who will be in his Cabinet and in his staff. But we have one appointee already.

Biden Names Ron Klain as White House Chief of Staff - The New York Times

Mr. Klain, a lawyer and veteran Democratic operative who first worked for the president-elect in the late 1980s when he was a senator, has been a sharp critic of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus.

...
In a statement, Mr. Biden called Mr. Klain an “invaluable” adviser, noting in particular the work they did together during the economic crisis in 2009 and the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Who Is Ron Klain? Joe Biden Names His Chief Of Staff : Live Updates: Presidential Transition : NPR

Klain, as a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, was particularly instrumental in its coronavirus messaging. He recorded an explanatory video in front of a white board that ended up being one of the campaign's most popular videos on social media platforms as it transitioned to a mostly digital operation during the early days of the pandemic.

Klain also worked as an adviser on Biden's unsuccessful 1988 and 2008 presidential campaigns, and as a top aide to Biden in the '80s and '90s on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The New York Times on Twitter: "Breaking News: President-elect Joe Biden is said to have chosen Ron Klain to be his chief of staff. https://t.co/yJgQPhCW0W" / Twitter
then
Ilhan Omar on Twitter: "Excellent choice, congratulations @RonaldKlain.

What a blessing to slowly be moving away from chaos." / Twitter
I agree. It's good to see someone with a good track record of handling infectious-disease outbreaks.

Also
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "Good news and an encouraging choice " / Twitter

 

[Angry Floof]

The last three links to tweets are going to Twitter's "About election labels" page.

 

[lpetrich]

Climate Mandate - The Team We Need to Combat the Climate Crisis by the Sunrise Movement and the Justice Democrats

"No ties to fossil fuel companies, or corporate lobbyists."

• Sec'y of the Interior: Deb Haaland Rep NM, Raul Grijalva Rep AZ, Jared Huffman Rep CA
• Sec'y of State: Barbara Lee Rep CA, Ro Khanna Rep CA, Chris Murphy Sen CT
• Sec'y of the Treasury: Elizabeth Warren Sen MA, Sarah Bloom Raskin Prof Duke Law School, Robert Reich Prof UC Berkeley
• Attorney General: Keith Ellison MN Atty Gnl, Larry Krasner Philadelphia Dst Atty, Dana Kessel MI Atty Gnl
• Head of the Council of Economic Advisers: Darrick Hamilton Exec Dir Kirwan Inst at Ohio St U, Stephanie Kelton Prof Stony Brook U, Heidi Shierholz Economist at Economic Policy Institute
• National Economic Council Director: Joseph Stiglitz Chief Economist at Roosevelt Inst and Prof Columbia U, Bharat Ramamurti Mng Dir of Corporate Power at Roosevelt Inst and Member of Cong Oversight Commission, Manuel Pastor Prof U S CA
• Sec'y of Labor: Bernie Sanders Sen VT, Mary Kay Henry Pres SEIU, Andy Levin Rep MI
• EPA Admin: Mustafa Ali, VP of Env Justice at National Wildlife Federation, Keven de Leon Prof UCLA, Heather McTeery Toney Dir moms Clean Air Force
• Sec'y of Housing and Urban Development: Rashida Tlaib Rep MI, Jumaane Williams NYC Public Advocate, Karen Bass Rep CA
• Sec'y of Transportation: Chuy Garcia Rep IL, Sara Melson Pres Association of Flight Attendants, Ayanna Pressley Rep MA
• Sec'y of Agriculture: Chellie Pingree Rep ME, Marsha Fudge Rep OH, Cory Booker Sen NJ
• Sec'y of Health and Human Services: Pramila Jayapal Rep WA, Abdul El-Sayed, Donald Berwick Pres Emer Sen Fellow Inst for Healthcare Improvement

 

[Angry Floof]

I hope there's a spot for Andrew Yang in there. Probably won't be, but should be.

 

[lpetrich]

The last three links to tweets are going to Twitter's "About election labels" page.

Links now fixed

 

[lpetrich]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

 

[Arctish]

I hope there's a spot for Andrew Yang in there. Probably won't be, but should be.

I'd like to see him as Head of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Cory Booker would be wasted at Dept. of Agriculture. His talents and experience are better suited for Housing and Urban Development. That's not to say he'd do a bad job at Agriculture, or that Agriculture isn't important in New Jersey. But I think he's more of a HUD kind of guy.

 

[Arctish]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

Very true.

 

[Angry Floof]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

True, we need those two in the Senate. As for McConnell, how old is he? Like 200? They really need to put that one out to pasture already. He makes Biden seem like a dad in his 40s.

 

[ZiprHead]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

True, we need those two in the Senate. As for McConnell, how old is he? Like 200? They really need to put that one out to pasture already. He makes Biden seem like a dad in his 40s.

There's always those second amendment solutions republicans keep talking about.

 

[Elixir]

There's always those second amendment solutions republicans keep talking about.

The guy's hands are bleeding and his face looks like it's falling off. God can do what 2A can't!

 

[Derec]

Climate Mandate - The Team We Need to Combat the Climate Crisis by the Sunrise Movement and the Justice Democrats

"No ties to fossil fuel companies, or corporate lobbyists."

Why? We will still need fossil fuels for a few more decades.

[*]Sec'y of the Treasury: Elizabeth Warren Sen MA, Sarah Bloom Raskin Prof Duke Law School, Robert Reich Prof UC Berkeley

Not familiar with Raskin, but the other two are too far left.

[*]Attorney General: Keith Ellison MN Atty Gnl, Larry Krasner Philadelphia Dst Atty, Dana Kessel MI Atty Gnl

Keith Ellison supported racist and antisemite. He should not be AG of Minnesota, much less US.
Larry Krasner is too far left too.

 

[Derec]

True, we need those two in the Senate. As for McConnell, how old is he? Like 200? They really need to put that one out to pasture already. He makes Biden seem like a dad in his 40s.

He is only like 6 months older than Biden. I know, hard to believe.

 

[TV and credit cards]

President Elect Joe Biden(d) puts former top Golden Slacks executive in charge transition for financial regulation.
Oh these moderates. I knew it. I just knew it. All Biden needed was the list from Burn It Down Bernie on how to straighten out Wall St. But no. Once again these dyed-in-the-wool politicians turn to people within the industry to regulate the industry. WTF is wrong with them? What they really need, what this country really needs is an outsider. Someone with seething hatred, who knows nothing of what they're talking about to...
Wait.
Where am I going with this?

 

[lpetrich]

"No ties to fossil fuel companies, or corporate lobbyists."

Why? We will still need fossil fuels for a few more decades.

I don't see the connection.

[*]Sec'y of the Treasury: Elizabeth Warren Sen MA, Sarah Bloom Raskin Prof Duke Law School, Robert Reich Prof UC Berkeley

Not familiar with Raskin, but the other two are too far left.

What makes Elizabeth Warren and Robert Reich "too far left"?

[*]Attorney General: Keith Ellison MN Atty Gnl, Larry Krasner Philadelphia Dst Atty, Dana Kessel MI Atty Gnl

Keith Ellison supported racist and antisemite. He should not be AG of Minnesota, much less US.
Larry Krasner is too far left too.

What makes Keith Ellison racist? Does he say "Enslave the honkies!"?
As to anti-Semitism, does he say that Jews are crooked capitalists who will do anything to win?

Also, what makes Larry Krasner "too far left"?

 

[lpetrich]

Joe Biden names Cedric Richmond, O'Malley Dillon to White House posts

Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden's campaign manager, will become deputy chief of staff. Steve Ricchetti, a longtime Biden adviser and lobbyist, will become counselor to the president. Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, who was national co-chairman of Biden's campaign, will become senior adviser to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Mike Donilon, chief strategist for the campaign, will become a senior adviser to the president. And Dana Remus, the campaign's general counsel, will become counsel to the president.

Progressive group slams two of Biden's White House appointees as 'corporate-friendly insiders' | Fox News

Progressive Democrats on Tuesday slammed President-elect Joe Biden’s appointments of Rep. Cedric Richmond and Steve Ricchetti to White House posts, calling them “unacceptable.”

Justice Democrats executive director Alexandra Rojas blasted Biden’s appointments of Richmond, D-La., as senior adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement, and of Ricchetti as counselor to the president, claiming they were “corporate-friendly insiders.”

“If Joe Biden continues making corporate-friendly appointments to his White House, he will risk quickly fracturing the hard-earned goodwill his team built with progressives to defeat Donald Trump,” Rojas said. “A Biden administration dominated by corporate-friendly insiders like Steve Ricchetti and Cedric Richmond will not help the President-elect usher in the most progressive Democratic administration in generations.”

Rojas slammed Ricchetti, a longtime Biden adviser and Biden-Harris campaign chairman, saying thast, as a former pharmaceutical lobbyist, he “represented groups vociferous opposed to Medicare For All and the public manufacturing of prescription drugs.”

“In this post-COVID era, Biden has a chance to make major reforms to our cruel health care system but it will require standing up to private power,” Rojas said.

Rojas also hit Richmond, calling him “one of the top Democratic recipients of fossil fuel money.”

“Richmond has been aggressively criticized by his own constituents for failing to act on their concerns revolving around industry regulations and the climate crisis,” Rojas said. “This move gives greater urgency for Joe Biden to create an Office of Climate Mobilization on Day One and appoint progressives with records standing up to the fossil fuel industry.”

Rojas added: “Progressives make up nearly half of the Democratic Party’s seats in the House of Representatives and should receive adequate representation in the Biden administration.”

 

[Metaphor]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

True, we need those two in the Senate. As for McConnell, how old is he? Like 200? They really need to put that one out to pasture already. He makes Biden seem like a dad in his 40s.

He is about six months older than Biden, and younger than Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi.

Perhaps you ought propose an out to pasture age? But somehow you'll have to include McConnell and exclude Sanders and Pelosi. What vexing arithmetic!

 

[Angry Floof]

Mitch McConnell is likely to be a major problem for the Biden Administration. He is likely to obstruct like crazy, just as he had done with the Obama Administration.

There is also a certain problem with appointing Senators, even good ones like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Who will succeed them in the Senate. BS and EW come from VT and MA, states that now have Republican governors. So their successors would be Republicans.

True, we need those two in the Senate. As for McConnell, how old is he? Like 200? They really need to put that one out to pasture already. He makes Biden seem like a dad in his 40s.

He is about six months older than Biden, and younger than Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi.

Perhaps you ought propose an out to pasture age? But somehow you'll have to include McConnell and exclude Sanders and Pelosi. What vexing arithmetic!

He seems older than all of them put together. He needs to be put out to pasture already regardless.

 

[lpetrich]

Here's who could serve in top roles in the Biden administration

• Secretary of State: Antony Blinken, Chris Coons, Susan Rice
• Secretary of the Treasury: Lael Brainard, Sarah Bloom Raskin
• Secretary of Defense: Tammy Duckworth, Michèle Flournoy
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Patrick Murphy
• Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas, Lisa Monaco
• Attorney General: Jeh Johnson, Doug Jones, Sally Yates
• Secretary of the Interior: Deb Haaland, Tom Udall
• Secretary of Commerce: Andrew Yang
• Secretary of Labor: Andy Levin, Sara Nelson, Bernie Sanders, Marty Walsh
• Health and Human Services Secretary: Michelle Lujan Grisham, Vivek Murthy, Gina Raimondo
• Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary: Keisha Lance Bottoms
• Transportation Secretary: Rahm Emanuel, Eric Garcetti
• Secretary of Education: Randi Weingarten
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Jay Inslee
• UN ambassador: Pete Buttigieg
• White House Press Secretary: Kate Bedingfield
• Karine Jean-Pierre: Symone Sanders

Already announced:

• Chief of Staff: Ron Klain (announced on November 11)
• Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen O'Malley Dillon (announced November 17)
• Senior Adviser to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement: Cedric Richmond (announced November 17)
• Senior Adviser to the President: Mike Donilon (announced November 17)
• Counsel to the President: Dana Remus (announced November 17)
• Counselor to the President: Steve Ricchetti (announced November 17)
• Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: Julie Rodriguez (announced November 17)
• Director of Oval Office Operations: Annie Tomasini (announced November 17)
• Chief of Staff to Jill Biden: Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon (announced November 17)
• Senior Adviser to Jill Biden: Anthony Bernal (announced November 17)

 

[southernhybrid]

It looks as if Biden is going to have a very difficult time putting anyone perceived as very progressive in his cabinet, due to Republican obstructionism.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/us/politics/senate-republicans-could-be-an-obstacle-for-bidens-cabinet-nominees.html

Senator Bernie Sanders, the progressive Vermont independent, has emerged as a contender for labor secretary in President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s administration, a prospect that would suit his ambitions of being a warrior for working Americans — and one that makes some Senate Republicans very uneasy.

It is a testament to the deterioration of the Senate confirmation process that a longtime colleague — even one they vehemently oppose on policy — would face such a Republican roadblock. In the not-too-distant past, fellow senators got considerable leeway from the opposing party if they were selected to join the executive branch.

“The truth is, to the best of my knowledge, there has been a courtesy within the Senate that when a president nominates senators, they have been approved,” Mr. Sanders said in an interview.

The growing senatorial resistance to Mr. Sanders even before any formal action by the new administration reflects the formidable task Mr. Biden faces. Should Republicans hold on to their Senate majority next year, Mr. Biden would be the first president since George Bush in 1989 to enter office without his party controlling the chamber and managing the confirmation process. And that process has grown much more toxic, to the point where senators routinely engage in near-blanket opposition to the picks of a president from the opposite party — if they allow consideration at all.

I don't remember where I read the list of other possible cabinet possibilities that the Republicans plan on rejecting, but the list included Warren and Susan Rice among a few others. So, apparently, unless the two Dems in Georgia win their races, the Republicans are already planning on obstructing the appointment of cabinet members that Biden might want.