U.S. Government: These are the candidates for Biden’s government team
Joe Biden’s cabinet is supposed to be colorful, a diverse team like the one the White House has not seen before. A mixture of the progressive and moderate party wing of the Democrats, supplemented by some representatives of the opposing Republicans. “In every way we need to ensure – from our school classes to our courtrooms to the President’s Cabinet – that our leadership and our institutions are indeed a reflection of America,” Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the summer.
The elected president faces a tightrope walk with the personnel line-up. He must not alienate the left wing of the demo cards, but in the case of a Senate without a democratic majority he will have to put together a tableau that is capable of consensus among some Republicans. Except for the security advisor, he needs the approval of the senators. Biden wants an aggressive team, say Senate colleagues, a mix of Washington veterans and new faces.
In addition to the promise to get the historic corona crisis in the country under control, most of them will take a critical look at the economic team, with which Biden wants to provide an upswing and jobs. Foreign partners alienated by the incumbent Donald Trump’s “America First” will hope for experienced and cosmopolitan diplomats and trade representatives.
As a first decision on the composition of his government team, Biden appointed his longtime advisor Ron Klain as chief of staff at the White House on Wednesday. Here are some of the hot candidates for the first cabinet named in the capital:
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Ministry of Finance
Biden can write history when he entrusts a woman or a “person of color” with the treasury. Only in the “Treasury” and in the Ministry of Defense have so far always been white men in charge. Favorite for the post of Treasury Secretary is Lael Brainard, currently governor of the US Federal Reserve, who served as Secretary of State for International Relations in the Treasury. Your job at the Fed is to regulate the financial sector. Other possible candidates are: the former central bank chief Janet Yellen, the failed Democratic presidential candidate Elisabeth Warren and the black president of the Central Bank of Atlanta Raphael Bostic.
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Trade and economy
The voice of the economy in the cabinet in the USA is the “Secretary of Commerce”, strictly speaking a trade minister, but who corresponds to the role of an economics minister. A name from Silicon Valley is currently circulating for the successor to the incumbent Wilbur Ross: Meg Whitman (photo), the former head of Ebay and Hewlett Packard, could take over the department. Whitman is currently the CEO of the streaming service Quibi, which will be discontinued soon. Also mentioned is the prominent entrepreneur Melody Hobson, currently co-boss of Ariel Investments. In the USA, the international trade representative is responsible for world trade.
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Trade Representative
Jimmy Gomez, an MP from California, who argued for this in the agreements with Canada and Mexico, stands for respect for workers’ rights and environmental protection in foreign trade agreements. A Biden government – it is hoped – will seek less confrontation in world trade and instead seek an understanding with its allies, for example in order to influence China’s trade practices. Mike Wessel, a member of the US-China Economic and Security Committee, and Katherine Tai, a trade expert from Congress with experience in China, are named as candidates.
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Foreign Ministry
The most prominent candidate is Susan Rice (photo), the former national security advisor to ex-President Barack Obama and later UN ambassador. In terms of foreign policy, it is more a pro-active falcon than a moderate dove. Even so, it has not suffered well with Republicans. Chris Coons, a Senator close to Biden from his home state Delaware and a leading member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, is also a possible candidate. Also named is William Burns, an accomplished foreign policy maker, former State Secretary and Ambassador to Russia and Jordan, today he is President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
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defense
The hot candidate is Michele Flournoy, a former Undersecretary in the Ministry of Defense. The security interests of China and the equipping of the US armed forces with cutting-edge technology are high on their agenda. She has advised Biden’s election campaign team on defense issues and sits on the board of directors of strategy consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton. Also in the running are Senator Tammy Duckworth, Iraq veteran in a wheelchair, and Senator Jack Reed.
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National Security Advisor
Antony Blinken already worked for Biden in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and is considered the closest foreign policy advisor. He was the deputy of state secretaries and security advisors and was often deployed in hot spots around the world, including the Korean peninsula, Myanmar and the Ukraine. The Biden confidante, pictured with Cinas Vice President Li Yuanchao 2015, is given good chances for the key position of a national security advisor or a state secretary. After the isolation, he is a strong advocate of rapprochement with international allies.
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UN ambassador
Democrat Pete Buttigieg himself can envision a role in US foreign policy. The multi-lingual Indiana mayor, who achieved respect for the Democratic presidential candidate, is traded for the post of US Ambassador to the United Nations. But names like Wendy Sherman and Linda Thomas-Greenfield are also used. In any case, from Buttigieg’s environment, it was said that he had a good chance of moving into the cabinet, in whatever function.
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CIA director
Michael Morell is given very good chances for the office of chief spy in Washington – pictured at a book launch. He was already director of the CIA and has a long career in the secret service. Other names are also traded: lawyer Avril Haines, a former deputy director on the National Security Council. Even a Republican doesn’t seem ruled out: Mike Rogers, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
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Agriculture
Amy Klobuchar, a Senator from Minnesota, was discussed as a possible vice president. Now she is eligible as Minister of Agriculture and is also named as a candidate for the Ministry of Justice. In agriculture, she advocates higher subsidies, disaster control programs and crop insurance. A prominent competitor is Heidi Heitkamp, a former senator on the Agriculture Committee, who campaigns for rural areas and who sharply attacked Trump because of the trade war with China and the resulting losses for US soy farmers. Environmentalists are critical of it.
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Department of Energy
It would be a home game for Ernest Moniz. The nuclear physicist already served as energy minister in the Obama administration, who was primarily responsible for the country’s nuclear power plants. (The picture shows him inaugurating his portrait in the ministry’s ancestral gallery.) Moniz also played an important role in the international negotiations for a nuclear deal with Iran, which the Trump administration has canceled. The governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, who is popular with environmentalists, is traded alongside him, as is former Vice Secretary of Energy Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, who is close to Biden.
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Ministry of Labor
Left-wing presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, who dropped out of the race in April in favor of Biden, would like to argue in the cabinet for workers’ rights and the welfare of the American middle class. If Biden wants to bring someone from the party’s progressive camp to the post, Sanders would be a possible choice. Andy Levin, a Republican union cadre with ministry experience, and Julie Su, Minister of Labor in California, are also mentioned.
