The transition to a new president continues to make headlines as disputes persist regarding the current call naming Joe Biden as President-elect. Biden is pushing forward by starting to compile his Presidential Cabinet. President-elect Biden triumphed over incumbent president Trump and is now focused on creating a Cabinet with balanced diversity.
Thus far, several cabinet members have been announced, but have yet to be confirmed by the United States Senate. There is also a long list of potential candidates being considered. Biden’s choices awaiting confirmation include Former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been announced as Secretary of State, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as Secretary of the Treasury, former DHS Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security, and Xavier Becerra to head Health and Human Services. The following are names of people that are contenders or have been confirmed for positions in Biden’s cabinet.
Kamala Harris
During the election, Biden has been focusing on breaking records by compiling a largely diverse cabinet, starting with choosing Kamala Harris as his Vice President. Harris has a background as an Attorney General in California and holds a current seat as a U.S. Senator from California. Harris will be the first female Vice President, as well as the first African American and Asian American Vice President.
Janet Yellen
Yellen will be the first woman to occupy this position of the United States Head Treasurer. Prior to her nomination for Biden’s cabinet, she was chosen as a Federal Reserve Board Governor, Vice-Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Chair of the Federal Reserve. In the past and going forward, Yellen has focused on the stability of the economy and economic stimulus. Yellen’s experience has brought her nomination support amongst the Democratic party.
Deb Haaland
No concrete decisions have been made for the position of Interior Secretary, though Haaland is a popular pick backed by the Democratic party. Biden is being urged by advisors to nominate Haaland, who has served as a representative of New Mexico since the 2018 elections. If elected into Biden’s cabinet as Interior Secretary, she will be the first Native American to be part of a presidential cabinet.
John Kerry
Biden has chosen John Kerry to be Presidential Envoy for the Climate, a position created by Biden apart from the cabinet members. With this choice, Biden has taken a clear stance on supporting the climate crisis, a drastic change from the current president. When Kerry served as Secretary of State under the Obama administration, he helped secure commitments from nearly 200 nations to take action against climate change in the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, an agreement Kellen signed on behalf of the US, and an agreement Biden is expected to commit the United states to for a second time. He served as a U.S. Senator for Massachusetts for 28 years, and in 2013 he was sworn in as President Obama’s Secretary of State.
