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Presidential Transition: What We Know About Biden's Cabinet Picks

caption: President-elect Joe Biden (C) introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
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President-elect Joe Biden (C) introduces key foreign policy and national security nominees and appointments at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

We take a look at who Biden has picked to lead, and what the choices say about the administration that’s taking shape.  

Guests

Tyler Pager, national political reporter for Bloomberg News. (@tylerpager)

Aisha C. Mills, Democratic political strategist. Former president and CEO of the Victory Institute, which runs the Presidential Appointments Project for the LGBTQ community. (@AishaMoodMills)

Martha Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that studies presidential transitions. Emeritus professor at Towson University. Author of “Before the Oath.” (@mkumar38)

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Ambassador John Bolton, chairman of the Foundation for American Security and Freedom. Former national security advisor to President Trump. (@AmbJohnBolton)

From The Reading List

Bloomberg: “Biden Plans to Nominate Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary” — “President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as his Treasury secretary, people familiar with the matter said, choosing the first woman and a seasoned central banker for the nation’s top economic policy job as the coronavirus pandemic threatens another U.S. downturn.”

Associated Press: “‘America is back’: Biden pushes past Trump era with nominees” — “Declaring ‘America is back,’ President-elect Joe Biden introduced his national security team on Tuesday, his first substantive offering of how he’ll shift from Trump-era ‘America First’ policies by relying on experts from the Democratic establishment to be some of his most important advisers.”

Politico: “Biden to spotlight CDC officials shunned by Trump” — “Nancy Messonnier, who enraged the president with her public warning of ‘severe’ Covid-19 consequences, is slated to reemerge as a key adviser.”

Washington Post: “Biden names diplomatic chiefs, aiming to convey momentum and avoid fights” — “President-elect Joe Biden announced a diverse set of nominees for top diplomatic and foreign policy posts Monday — including the first Latino and first immigrant as homeland security secretary and the first woman as director of national intelligence — as he sought to convey momentum and inevitability in building his administration.”

The Guardian: “‘A cabinet that looks like America’: Harris hails Biden’s diverse picks” — “President-elect Joe Biden formally introduced his first round of cabinet nominations on Tuesday, a move broadly welcomed as a restoration of the old Washington and international order after the turmoil of the Trump administration.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2020 NPR]

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