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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNYMag: Here's Who Biden Is Considering for Top Jobs in His Administration
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/10/who-biden-is-considering-for-top-jobs-if-he-wins.htmlThe overwhelming bulk of Bidens operation is sincerely still dedicated to winning the race against Donald Trump, which even his top advisers insist is likely to be closer than public polling suggests. But private materials sketching out possible administration appointments and a series of conversations between New York and very senior Democrats in and around the Biden campaign and transition reveal that these talks and plans, led largely by Biden loyalists and Obama White House alums preparing for a messier-than-usual transition period, are actually rather advanced at least enough so that if Biden were to clearly win in November, his operation would be in position to somewhat swiftly stand up a new administration and Cabinet even if Trump drags his feet on cooperating.
A few weeks ago, Bidens inner circle warned candidates for high-profile Cabinet gigs that they better stop being so obvious about jockeying for jobs while Trump could still win in keeping with the general campaign strategy to lie low, avoid handing the president any political ammunition, and instead let him implode on his own. But according to Democrats familiar with the work, behind closed doors the transition team has been measuring out just how much rebuilding is necessary at the White House and government agencies. Theyre considering not just top-level Cabinet appointments but lining up possible candidates for little-known bureaucratic roles, too in part the kind of work any responsible transition might be doing, but also a reaction to Trumps four years of destruction. And theyre also making contingency plans for transitioning to a new administration if the outgoing Trump team wont help, as exiting functionaries are expected to in a sane political universe.
Biden has nearly half-a-century worth of friends in Washington, but people close to him say that, rather than installing them in the governments most powerful positions, he could push those senator buddies to the kinds of comfy ambassador gigs usually reserved for top donors, and instead make good on his repeated campaign-trail promise to serve as a bridge to a younger generation of pols and bureaucrats. He and his advisers have repeatedly promised to build the most diverse Cabinet ever, and theyve been preparing for intense pressure especially from progressives to steer clear of corporate and moderate appointments wherever possible after Trump leaned heavily on such picks (for example, Biden would face huge disappointment from his left if he tapped Quibi CEO Meg Whitman, a Republican, for Commerce secretary, as some close to him have suggested). Theyre thinking twice before floating bankers for economic roles, too. It also means theyre wary of even seriously considering Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, a close Biden ally, for attorney general given her prosecutorial record to which many Black activists have objected.
Some prominent campaign supporters appear to still be in line for jobs. Delaware senator Chris Coons, an extremely close Biden ally, is likely to get a look as a potential secretary of State if he doesnt prefer serving as Bidens eyes and ears in the Senate (and if he does become the countrys top diplomat, that might leave his Senate seat open for Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Biden campaign chair). Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, another campaign chair, is likely to be seriously considered for secretary of Transportation and perhaps Labor if hes not derailed by a report that he was aware of the sexual misconduct of one of his top advisers, according to Democrats familiar with some of the preliminary planning. Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, another highly valued campaign surrogate, has been talked about as a possible Housing secretary, and Pete Buttigieg whom the Biden orbit credits with helping the ex-VP close out the Democratic primary, and who is now advising the transition team after playing Mike Pence in Kamala Harriss debate-prep sessions has been discussed as a potential ambassador to the U.N., which would entail a convenient relocation for the former mayor to a blue state full of donors, in case he wants to run for something statewide in more hospitable territory for Democrats at some point. Hes also been mentioned as a contender for secretary of Veterans Affairs. Elizabeth Warren, who has kept in close touch with Biden on COVID-19 recovery policy, is seen as less likely to get a formal cabinet job, in part because many Biden advisers worry theres no obvious fit that wouldnt concern a big swath of the candidates moderate backers, and at least partially because Massachusettss Republican governor would get to pick her replacement in the Senate.
Biden himself has not taken part in serious talks with his transition team about the top Cabinet posts, and his top political advisers have also been treading carefully on the topic even behind the scenes, confident that theyll have more of a say in November, if Biden wins. (A diverse, experienced, and talented team will help Joe Biden and Kamala Harris prepare to get the pandemic under control and build our economy back better on day one, said a transition spokesman. No decisions, from personnel to policy, will be made until after the election.) We can, however, use the documents and insights from Democrats close to Biden to start piecing together some of the cabinet puzzle already. Heres whos likely to be considered for the absolute top jobs.
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Some great choices!!
safeinOhio
(32,672 posts)Lock them up, Lock them up. Lock them all up.
onetexan
(13,036 posts)safeinOhio
(32,672 posts)I agree with you 100%.
dansolo
(5,376 posts)Adam Schiff should stay as Intelligence Chair. He could be Speaker one day. I think Sally Yates should be AG. She deserves it.
Schiff is more valuable in congress.
OnDoutside
(19,953 posts)madaboutharry
(40,206 posts)He might rather move over to the Senate.
onetexan
(13,036 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)MrsCoffee
(5,801 posts)But go ahead, LOL away.
PTWB
(4,131 posts)to NOT appear partisan in any way. HRC as attorney general just wouldnt work.
Id be happy to see her come back to work in a Biden administration (if she wants to), just not in that type of roll.
Give her Secretary of State again if she wants it so we can begin repairing the damage Trump did with our alliances... also, Putin would have a shit fit!
babylonsister
(171,056 posts)PTWB
(4,131 posts)onetexan
(13,036 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,278 posts)Josh Shapiro for US Atty General. He's been successful beating back GOP attempts to undermine the election in PA. He's got other feathers in his cap, too, like shining a bright light on how the Catholic church hid its problem with pedophile priests. He helped negotiate a deal between UPMC and AGH/Highmark that allows patients to keep their doctors.
ebbie15644
(1,214 posts)DeminPennswoods
(15,278 posts)and not be named US Atty Gen. But with PA being the "crucial" swing state and Shapiro's role in protecting the vote, it's not out of the realm of possibility he's in the running for a job if Biden wins.
ebbie15644
(1,214 posts)FakeNoose
(32,628 posts)Yes he has been wonderful as our AG, and that's why we should not have to give him up to Washington politics. If he decides to run for Governor in a few years, so much the better.
Dorian Gray
(13,490 posts)Quibi CEO has to be out after they failed this week. And Eric Garcetti, LA Mayor, is under attack for ignoring sexual harassment in his admin.
My Pet Orangutan
(9,234 posts)and this piece is political masturbation.
luv2fly
(2,475 posts)Please be squeaky clean, no ties to anything even remotely questionable. The Republicans are going to trash every single one of them no matter what, so they must be beyond reproach.
OnDoutside
(19,953 posts)shouldn't be ruled by what Republicans may think of them.
onetexan
(13,036 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)he's too palsy with the Cons for my taste and I question his judgment
pecosbob
(7,535 posts)Rachel Maddow
The gist...the prosecutors in the DoJ know how to do their jobs. We need someone to lead the DoJ into this century and begin dismantling the carceral state.
LAS14
(13,783 posts)ananda
(28,858 posts)!!!