Who’s who in Biden’s Cabinet?
A number of president-elect’s early picks for national security and foreign policy teams are from the Obama era
President-elect Joe Biden has started to formally nominate members of his cabinet, as he officially begins the transition to the White House.
Mr Biden’s team has been vetting potential candidates for cabinet positions since he was announced the winner of 3 November’s election, despite Donald Trump repeatedly refusing to concede and initially blocking the transition process.
President Trump seemed to soften his stance last month, as he accepted that a formal transition for Mr Biden to take office should begin, though still has not accepted defeat.
After the General Services Administration acknowledged Mr Biden as the “apparent winner” of the presidential election, Mr Trump said that the agency must “do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols”.
Vice-president elect Kamala Harris and Mr Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain were previously announced as part of the president-elect’s team, before he announced more nominations in late November and early December.
A number of Mr Biden’s first picks for his national security and foreign policy teams have worked with him before, while the hires are more diverse than any previous US cabinet.
The president-elect will be nominating more candidates for his cabinet over the next few weeks, as his transition begins to take shape.
Here are Mr Biden’s first picks for his cabinet.
Anthony Blinken, secretary of state
Anthony Blinken was announced as Mr Biden’s pick for secretary of state on Monday 23 November, to replace Mike Pompeo in Mr Trump’s administration.
Mr Blinken, 57, was born in New York City. He went on to study at Harvard University and earned a law degree from Columbia Law School.
Between 1994 and 2001 he served on the National Security Council at the White House and then worked as staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He joined Mr Biden’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, before he was selected by Barack Obama as his running mate.
The longtime diplomat was part of the Obama transition team in 2008. He worked directly with Mr Biden when he was vice president, serving as national security adviser from 2009 to 2013.
Mr Blinken then served as deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017 during president Obama’s second term.
He reunited with Mr Biden to work as a foreign policy adviser for his 2020 campaign and has publicly spoken about the President-elect’s plans in regards to foreign policy.
In October, he said that the Biden administration will “undertake a strategic review” of America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, and confirmed that it will “will continue non-nuclear” sanctions against Iran.
The 57-year-old previously called Brexit a “total mess” and compared the decision to the far-right French politician, Marine Le Pen.
However, he has praised the Trump administration’s normalisation agreement between Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Mr Obama described Mr Blinken as “outstanding. Smart, gracious, a skilled diplomat, well-regarded around the world”.
John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate
John Kerry was announced as Mr Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate on 23 November, becoming only the second person appointed to the role.
Carol Browner served from 2009 to 2016 during Mr Obama’s presidency but Mr Trump declined to appoint anyone to the position during his time in the White House.
Mr Kerry, 76, former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee, retired from government service in 2017 when Mr Trump was inaugurated as president.
The longtime public official served as a Massachusetts senator from 1985 to 2013. He then served as secretary of state for four more years under Mr Obama.
While in the role, he played an important part in the creation of the Paris climate agreement, which commits countries to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Trump then withdrew the US from the agreement but Mr Biden has promised to immediately rejoin it.
Mr Kerry was part of the climate taskforce during Mr Biden’s presidential campaign. The President-elect’s transition team said that his appointment shows that Mr Biden sees climate change as an “urgent national security issue”.
Mr Kerry tweeted: “America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is.”
He does not need to be confirmed by the Senate for his role.
Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Mr Biden announced the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday, 23 November.
Mr Mayorkas, 61, was born in Havana, Cuba, and if confirmed will become the first immigrant to hold the position and the first Latino person in the role.
He moved to Miami, Florida with his parents in the 1960s after his family fled Cuba as refugees, before then settling in California a few years later.
After working as a US attorney in the Central District of California, he joined the Obama administration in 2009 as the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The agency is in charge of applications for green cards, naturalisation ceremonies and work permits, according to CBS News.
He was then nominated by president Obama to be the deputy DHS secretary in 2013, which made him the highest ranking Cuban-American in the US government.
After Mr Obama’s presidency ended, Mr Mayorkas worked for the international law firm WilmerHale.
Following the announcement on Monday, Mr Mayorkas wrote: “When I was very young, the United States provided my family and me a place of refuge.
“Now, I have been nominated to be the DHS Secretary and oversee the protection of all Americans and those who flee persecution in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones.”
Avril Haines, director of National Intelligence
On 23 November, Mr Biden nominated Avril Haines to serve as the director of National Intelligence.
If confirmed by the Senate, Ms Haines, 51, will become the first woman to serve in the role.
Ms Haines was born in New York City, and studied at the University of Chicago before gaining her law degree from Georgetown University.
She first worked with Mr Biden between 2007 and 2008, as the deputy chief counsel for the Majority Senate Democrats, while the President-elect served as the chairman.
Under the Obama administration, Ms Haines worked as both the White House deputy national security adviser and deputy director of the CIA. She was the first woman to hold both titles.
Ms Haines also serves on the boards of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Refugees International, and previously worked as a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University.
In the position as the director of National Intelligence, Ms Haines will oversee the National Intelligence Program, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council. She will also serve as an adviser to the president.
Speaking to NPR about Ms Haines’ appointment, former CIA director John Brennan said that she is “widely respected among intelligence professionals, and her superior intellect, humility and legendary work ethic are deeply admired by the thousands of intelligence officers with whom she worked during the Obama Administration.”
Jake Sullivan, national security adviser
Mr Biden announced Jake Sullivan’s nomination as his national security adviser, replacing Robert O’Brien in Mr Trump’s administration.
Mr Sullivan, 43, who is the youngest of Mr Biden’s picks, was born in Vermont but moved to Minnesota with his family when he was a child.
He attended Yale University and went on to earn a law degree from the school.
After working as chief counsel to Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, he served as an adviser for Hillary Clinton during the 2008 Democratic primaries, and then to Mr Obama for the 2008 presidential election.
After Ms Clinton was made secretary of state during Mr Obama’s presidency, Mr Sullivan worked as her deputy chief of staff and director of Policy Planning until she stepped down in 2013.
He then taught at Yale Law School and joined the London and New York–based firm, Macro Advisory Partners.
A statement from Mr Biden’s transition team read: “During his time in government, Sullivan was a lead negotiator in the initial talks that paved the way for the Iran nuclear deal and played a key role in the US-brokered negotiations that led to a ceasefire in Gaza in 2012.
“He also played a key role in shaping the Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy at both the State Department and the White House.”
Mr Sullivan also tweeted that president-elect Biden “taught me what it takes to safeguard our national security at the highest levels of our government. Now, he has asked me to serve as his National Security Advisor.”
“In service, I will do everything in my power to keep our country safe.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, UN ambassador
Linda Thomas-Greenfield was announced as Mr Biden’s pick for UN ambassador, replacing Kelly Craft who has served in that role for the Trump administration since 2019.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield, 68, was born in Louisiana, where she gained a bachelor of arts from the state university. The following year she gained a master’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
A longtime diplomat, Ms Thomas-Greenfield joined the US foreign service in 1982 and served in numerous positions, including the deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.
She also served as the US ambassador to Liberia between 2008 and 2012 and later as the director general of the Foreign Service and director of Human Resources.
The 68-year-old was terminated from the State Department in 2017 by President Trump, as part of a purge of several senior officials in the department.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield was named as a volunteer for Mr Biden’s transition team earlier in November, before being announced as his pick for the UN ambassador.
Following the announcement on Monday, Ms Thomas-Greenfield wrote on Twitter: “My mother taught me to lead with the power of kindness and compassion to make the world a better place.
“I've carried that lesson with me throughout my career in Foreign Service — and, if confirmed, will do the same as Ambassador to the United Nations.”
Janet Yellen, treasury secretary
Announced as Mr Biden’s pick for treasury secretary on 23 November, Janet Yellen will replace Steven Mnuchin who has served in that role since February 2017.
Ms Yellen, 74, was born in Bay Ridge, New York City, and attended Brown University, where she graduated with a degree in economics, before attaining a PhD in the same subject at Yale University.
She then worked as an assistant professor at Harvard from 1971 to 1976, before she joined the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to research international monetary reform.
Ms Yellen continued to work as a professor in both the UK and US for the next 20 years, before former president Bill Clinton appointed her as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, which she served between 1994 and 1997.
The economist worked as the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010 and then as the vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2010 to 2014, before she was sworn in as the chair at the end of her term.
Since leaving the position in 2017, Ms Yellen has served as a distinguished fellow in residence at the think tank, the Brooking Institution, and has publicly criticised President Trump’s economic policies.
If she is confirmed by the Senate, Ms Yellen will become the first women to serve as the US treasury secretary.
Neera Tanden, director of the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Neera Tanden was announced as the president-elect’s pick for the OMB director on 30 November 2020, replacing Mick Mulvaney, who was appointed to the position in May 2020.
Ms Tanden, 49, was born in Bedford, Massachusetts, to parents who emigrated to the US from India. If confirmed to her position, she will be the first woman of colour, and only third woman to hold the title of the OMB director.
She first got a degree from the University of California in 1992, before she graduated from Yale Law School in 1996 with a law degree.
Ms Tanden, who is a personal friend of former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, worked as policy director for Ms Clinton’s successful Senate campaign in 2000 and her unsuccessful run for president in 2008.
She then joined Mr Obama’s successful presidential campaign and served as a senior adviser to secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services during his administration.
Ms Tanden also serves as the president of the advocacy organisation, the Centre for American Progress, which she co-founded in 2003.
The OMB director pick is a prolific Twitter user, which has drawn some criticism from Republicans.
After being nominated, Ms Tanden tweeted: “Every American—Republican, Democrat, and Independent—deserves to know that their government has their back.
“If I have the honour of being confirmed, I’ll never lose sight of that.”
Xavier Becerra, Health and Human Services secretary
Xavier Becerra was announced as Mr Biden’s pick for the US Health and Human Services secretary on 8 December 2020, replacing Alex Azar, who has held the position since January 2018.
Mr Becerra, 62, was born in Sacramento, California. His father was born in the US but raised in Tijuana, Mexico, while his mother is from Guadalajara. If confirmed, he will be the first Latino person to run the department.
He first studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain, before he completed an Economics degree from Stanford University. Like many of Mr Biden’s cabinet picks, he went on to get a law degree, which he obtained from Stanford University.
After working as a lawyer for a number of years and then as a deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice, Mr Becerra was elected as a Congressman in California.
The 62-year-old was in Congress from 1993 to 2017, and served as the chair of the House Democratic Caucus between 2013 and 2017.
He then became the California Attorney General in 2017, before Mr Biden selected him as his pick for the US Health and Human Services secretary.
General Lloyd Austin, defence secretary
Lloyd Austin was announced as the president-elect’s pick for US defence secretary on 8 December 2020, replacing the acting secretary Christopher Miller, who has held the position since November.
Mr Austin, 67, was born in Alabama, but raised in Georgia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1975 and obtained a masters from Auburn University's College of Education in 1986 and a Master of Business Administration from Webster University in 1989.
Having served in the US army in locations across the US and Germany, Mr Austin was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, where he worked as chief of the Joint Operations Division.
A four-star officer, Mr Austin served as the commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division during the War in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2005, before becoming the commanding general of US Forces in Iraq in 2010.
He was nominated by Mr Obama to the position of commander of the United States Central Command in 2013, which saw him work with Mr Biden on foreign policy .
Mr Austin was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and will be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon if he is confirmed by the Senate.
Jeff Zients, coronavirus coordinator
Jeff Zients was announced by Mr Biden as his coronavirus coordinator on 7 December, to lead the team distributing Covid-19 vaccines to US citizens.
Mr Zients, 54, was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Kensington, Maryland. He received a degree in political science from Duke University in 1984.
After working in management consulting at Mercer Management Consulting for a number of years, Mr Zients was appointed to the position of chief operating officer of DGB Enterprises in 1996.
He was then promoted to chief executive officer in 1998 and chairman in 2001, which he served as until 2004.
During the Obama administration, Mr Zients was the acting director of the OMB in two spells between 2010 and 2013, and was tasked with fixing the website for the Affordable Care Act, which had launched with errors.
He then served as assistant to the president for economic policy and director of the National Economic Council from 2014 to 2017. After leaving government, Mr Zients chaired Facebook’s Audit and Risk Oversight Committee.
Mr Zients was a co-chair of the Biden transition team, before he was appointed as the coronavirus coordinator and a counselor to the president in December.
Vivek Murthy, surgeon general
Dr Vivek Murthy, 43, was announced as Mr Biden’s pick for the US surgeon general on 7 December 2020, replacing vice admiral Jerome Adams, who has served in the role since 2017. Dr Murthy previously served in the role under Mr Obama.
He was born in Huddersfield, England, in 1977, to parents who emigrated from Karnataka, India. A year later, the family moved to Newfoundland, off the coast of Canada. When Dr Murthy was three, his family moved again to Miami.
Dr Murthy graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biochemical sciences in 1994 and then earned an MD from Yale School of Medicine and an MBA from Yale School of Management in 2003.
Having worked as a physician for a number of years, Dr Murthy was appointed by Mr Obama to the role of surgeon general, which he served as from 2013 until 2017.
After his nomination, Dr Murthy tweeted: “The best doctor is not an authority figure who writes prescriptions, but rather a partner in healing — someone who sees patients in their fullest humanity and empowers them to take charge of their health.
“That’s what I will always strive to be as America’s doctor.”
All of Mr Biden’s nominations, except for Mr Kerry, still need to be confirmed by the Senate before starting in their roles following his inauguration on 20 January.
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