Biden-Harris Names Agency Review Teams’ Leaders, Potential Black Cabinet Candidates
“The African American community stood up again for me,” President-elect Joe Biden declared in his victory speech. “They always have my back, and I’ll have yours.” On Saturday (Nov. 7), several major media outlets declared Biden the winner of the presidential election. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris became the first Black person, Asian American person, and woman in the role.
Biden-Harris Transition Moves Forward:
Biden’s team began preparing for a presidential transition, including launching a transition website that highlights four policy areas the President-elect plans to prioritize: COVID-19 response, economic recovery, racial equity, and climate change. Biden also named a 12-member coronavirus task force led by three co-chairs including Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Black physician, and the Yale associate dean for health equity research.
African Americans Lead Over a Quarter of Biden-Harris Agency Review Teams:
The President-elect’s transition effort also released the names of hundreds of experts to be members of 39 agency review teams. Black team leads include:
- Chiquita Brooks-LaSure (HHS)
- Carolyn Colvin (Social Security Administration)
- Linda Darling-Hammond (Education)
- Linda Etim (International Development)
- Don Graves (Treasury)
- Patrice Simms (EPA)
- Vince Stewart (Intelligence)
- Ronald Stroman (Postal Service)
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield (State)
- Geovette Washington (Commerce)
- Phillip Washington (Transportation)
Black Cabinet Candidates:
The names of several African Americans have been floated in the press as potential cabinet members, including but not limited to potential leaders of:
Commerce
- Mellody Hobson
Defense
- Jeh Johnson
Education
- Alma Adams
- Bobby Scott
- Jim Shelton
EPA
- Heather McTeer Toney
HHS
- Karen Bass
Homeland Security
- Val Demings
- Cedric Richmond
- Bennie Thompson
HUD
- Karen Bass
- Alvin Brown
- Keisha Lance Bottoms
- Maurice Jones
Justice
- Keith Ellison
- Letitia James
Labor
- Lisa Blunt Rochester
- Bobby Scott
- Bill Spriggs
SBA
- Michael Blake
- Marie Johns
State
- Susan Rice
Treasury
- Raphael Bostic
- Roger Ferguson
- Mellody Hobson
USDA
- Marcia Fudge
For more see Politico, NY Times, USA Today, Vox, and Orlando Sentinel.
Obtaining an Appointment:
The Biden-Harris administration will have over 4000 political appointments, and introductory thoughts on obtaining a spot are in “Seeking a Political Appointment,” “How (Not) To Get a Job in an Administration,” “Guide to Presidential Appointments,” and the website at the Center for Presidential Transition.