Joe Biden’s cabinet
People were literally dancing in the streets after Joe Biden was declared the 46th President of the United States. What a sight Black Lives Matter Plaza must have been for Donald Trump, who returned to see it from yet another golf trip. We deserved the celebration, even if it was somewhat marred by Trump’s refusal to concede the election and vow to fight to the bitter end through his ludicrous lawsuits. We knew Trump would not leave easily, but Biden’s focus is already on how to repair and heal our nation and defeat coronavirus.
President Joe Biden is poised to announce his 12-person coronavirus task force as early as Monday, according to CNN. The task force is headed up by three co-chairs: Vivek Murthy, former surgeon general; David Kessler, former FDA commissioner; and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith. President Biden plans to attack the virus with the urgency that should have been used at the beginning. Instead of dealing with the virus, Trump continued to lie about it, and we are now facing our third straight day of over 100,000 new cases according to Johns Hopkins University data. Instead of ignoring the elephant in the room, Biden wants to tackle it head on.
Biden has also begun building his transition team, which, according to Politico, has been vetting candidates for cabinet positions. While many are pushing President Biden on who should comprise his cabinet, Biden is looking at reality. Many of the higher-level positions will require Senate approval, which for the moment remains in the hands of Republicans, pending the Georgia runoff elections. Nonetheless, Biden’s transition team is moving forward with what Politico believes will be a “mix of progressives, moderates, and even a few Republicans.” The team is focused on two positions that have never been led by a woman or person of color, Treasury and Defense. The top contenders, according to Politico, are Michele Flournoy, former undersecretary for Defense policy, and Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve Governor and former member of Obama’s Treasury department. Brainard is a “middle-of-the-road” candidate who might be approved without pushback from either progressives or conservatives.
Treasury Secretary is one of the most vital roles for Biden to fill to due to the economic turndown, but Biden is going to be in a tough position all around. He is facing the pandemic and the economic downturn that resulted from Trump’s mismanagement, and he must choose his cabinet carefully so that he does not expend extra time and money fighting with Republicans unless and until Democrats can take the majority. Georgia will once again play a prominent role.
Andrew Yang, who appeared on CNN, is heading to Georgia to help Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in their runoff races. Yang said that both Biden and Harris plan to return to Georgia as well. These seats have taken on an extremely important role and can give Biden room to avoid interference from Moscow Mitch. Winning both seats will give Democrats the majority, reducing McConnell to minority leader, thereby limiting his power. With Biden as President and McConnell’s hands tied, we can move this country forward.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years