Who Positions Himself For Biden's Cabinet?

 

From the left wing of the Democrats to the moderate Republicans, there are concrete expectations of President-elect Joe Biden.

No sooner has Joe Biden been proclaimed the winner by the cable channels than the carousel of personnel speculation is already turning. What could a Biden cabinet look like? Who needs to be rewarded for their special efforts in the election campaign?

It is clear that the President-elect has to master a balancing act. Anchored in the political center himself, he has to involve the left wing of the Democrats. A wing that - unlike Hillary Clinton in 2016 - fully supported him in the trial of strength with Donald Trump and now wants to collect the wages for it. On the other hand, moderate Republicans hope for a personal signal. The conciliatory notes that Biden struck after his victory are expected to be followed by something concrete: the appointment of at least one important department to a conservative from the moderate school of thought. An overview:

Foreign Ministry

A promising candidate is Susan Rice, first UN ambassador under Obama, then national security advisor. She is trusted by former Vice President Biden after years of working closely with her. Like him, she emphasizes the value of international alliances. Since the Senate must confirm the appointment, a lot depends on whether the Republicans maintain their majority in the smaller Chamber of Parliament. That will be decided in January in two runoff elections in the state of Georgia.

If it stayed with the conservative majority, Rice might have to bury her hopes. A number of Republicans are targeting them to this day because they characterized an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which the American ambassador was killed in 2012, as a result of spontaneous popular anger, provoked by a video of abuse against the Prophet Mohammed. In fact, it was a thoroughly planned attack by a terrorist cell.

The name Antony Blinken often comes up when it comes to the chief position in the State Department. Blinken advised Vice President Biden on national security issues before moving to the White House and becoming Vice Foreign Minister in 2015. During the election campaign he was its chief foreign policy advisor. He is also under discussion for the post of National Security Advisor.

Pentagon

If you believe the rumor mill, everything runs towards Michèle Flournoy. She could become the first female defense minister in the country's history. Under Obama, she was already Secretary of State in the Pentagon. When then Minister Chuck Hagel, a Republican of the political center, resigned six years ago, Flournoy was already being traded as a possible successor. She canceled on the grounds that she wanted to concentrate fully on the work in the think tank she had set up, the Center for a New American Security.

Ministry of Finance

The favorite is Lael Brainard, an economist with a Harvard degree. She has been a member of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve since 2014. Before that she was State Secretary in the Finance Department, responsible for international affairs. During that time, Brainard represented the USA in expert rounds of the G20 and G7.

Elizabeth Warren, along with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the figurehead of the left, also shows ambitions for the office. As an academic specializing in bankruptcy law, she warned of risky subprime mortgages before the financial crisis, which would in fact soon ruin millions of home buyers. She then directed the creation of a new consumer protection agency on behalf of Obama. Warren's competence is undisputed, but the business world is likely to vigorously defend itself against the appointment of a politician who, among other things, wants to introduce a wealth tax.

White House Chief of Staff

Ron Klain, a lawyer who was Vice President Biden's chief of staff, is the ideal candidate for the role of chief organizer. When the Ebola fever briefly caused acute uncertainty in 2014, he was appointed Ebola Tsar, special representative in the fight against the epidemic. On Klain's recommendation, a department was created in the White House devoted exclusively to the subject of pandemics. Trump later had it dissolved.