Picking Biden's Cabinet

[Centrist Simon Steele]

14 minutes ago, DMC said:

Generally speaking, trying to poach a Senate seat from the other party via offering them a Cabinet post is not a "crafty" move.  Not only would it instantly be read by McConnell in this context, it would instantly be read as such an effort by that Senator as well.  When this happened in 2009 with Judd Gregg - before that got blown up by his earmarks scandal - there was an agreement that the Democratic governor of New Hampshire (John Lynch) would appoint Gregg's chief of staff as his replacement.

I agree. McConnell would never let it through either way. 

[Ormond]

51 minutes ago, Simon Steele said:

I can't help how you read it. I said I don't mean it as an insult. He's not crafty. And it probably wouldn't work anyway. I suppose I meant "clever" as being indicative of some level of sneakery, which isn't the denotative meaning of the word, but certainly it's a euphemism, sometimes, to say someone is being sneaky. And I also said I don't think it's a strategy that would work, so 

I'm sorry, but saying it's "too clever for Joe " IS an insult. Your immediately claiming it is not an insult is gaslighting, in my opinion. I don't know how else to interpret that phrase other than as an insult. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

I agree with you on the first part, but disagree on the second.  Pete's already run for president and won Iowa.  And Biden owes him a debt for the pre-Super Tuesday endorsement.  He can and should take a cabinet job but being senator or governor in Virginia/Maryland is not a necessary step up to the presidency.  I think in 2028 or 2032 he'll be perfectly qualified to run again after serving a term or two in the cabinet.  And honestly, maybe having a career like Bill Richardson (minus the scandal and implosion) doing a couple of different cabinet jobs and an ambassadorship is probably the best qualification for running again.  

It's not a necessary step, but it's still better than using a cabinet position as a spring board to run again, especially if he doesn't get one of the prime roles (his best bet is UN Ambassador). And he's also not limited to just Virginia or Maryland, but I think it's hard to argue that he much to build his political career on by staying in Indiana. 

[Gaston de Foix]

2 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

It's not a necessary step, but it's still better than using a cabinet position as a spring board to run again, especially if he doesn't get one of the prime roles (his best bet is UN Ambassador). And he's also not limited to just Virginia or Maryland, but I think it's hard to argue that he much to build his political career on by staying in Indiana. 

Agreed.  He would be a good successor to Feinstein as well.  

[Centrist Simon Steele]

3 hours ago, Ormond said:

I'm sorry, but saying it's "too clever for Joe " IS an insult. Your immediately claiming it is not an insult is gaslighting, in my opinion. I don't know how else to interpret that phrase other than as an insult. 

Take it how you will. I explained how I meant it.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Jesus this potential list NYT put out this AM is all over the place.  For energy or interior they mention Jay Inslee and Ernest Moniz.  So helpful.  Could either be someone who's shown genuine desire and interest on combating climate change aggressively, or a quirky shill for the fossil fuel industry.  Fucking hell.

Could either be good, or REALLY BAD!  

Would love to see the equivalent of this for say, Secretary of Defense: could be Susan Rice, could be Noam Chomsky!

[DMC]

4 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Could either be good, or REALLY BAD!  

Would love to see the equivalent of this for say, Secretary of Defense: could be Susan Rice, could be Noam Chomsky!

Totally agreed.  Noam Chomsky would be an unmitigated disaster trying to run the Pentagon, not to mention put the security of the nation in serious peril.  I've taught a decent amount of undergrads considerably more qualified than a linguistics professor that leveraged his word-class credentials in the discipline to publish droves of inane and laughably misinformed ramblings on US foreign policy allowing him to drone on to pseudo-intellectual hipsters at coffeehouses and bookstores throughout university towns for the past half century.

Anyway, while I agree on Moniz - definitely a nonstarter for me - he has been mentioned in most of these writeups.  Generally that makes sense, if I were to compose such lists I'd try to identify the key "leftist" and "centrist" candidates at each post to present the requisite ideological balance and confirmability considerations with a GOP Senate (or even BCS Manchin as the swing vote) that makes the selection process quite the tough needle to thread (especially compared to any recent president).

To be fair to the NYT, this is specifically emphasized in the introduction of the piece.  Will say though, while it's not particularly surprising, their list does seem to lean particularly "centrist" on most posts.  

Finally, just to be a completist, the candidates for intelligence posts has become more clear since I posted the topic.  I'd go Donilon at DNI and Haines at CIA.  Still looking for an SBA Administrator though...

[DMC]

This has already been touched upon in the politics thread, but Biden announced a ton of WHO hirings today/last night, filling out most of his senior staff.  Figured this could be a good place to discuss all his WHO hirings outside the hustle of the politics thread - plus obviously a good excuse to bump my thread.  Here's a good rundown of all the hirings, featuring:

Quote

Some names had been previously reported as likely to take top spots in the administration, including incoming deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley, Cedric Richmond, joining as a senior adviser to Biden and director of the White House office of Public Engagement, and Steve Ricchetti, a former chief of staff for Biden as vice president, who will now serve as a counselor to the president.

Another longtime Biden adviser, and Biden’s chief strategist during the campaign, Mike Donilon is also joining Biden’s administration as a senior adviser.

I like O'Malley Dillon as Deputy CoS, somewhat surprised she agreed to join the administration rather than continue as a campaign operative.  Ricchetti, however, I'm not a fan of, especially as counselor, but that's not exactly surprising.  Sounds like Donilon will serve similar to Pete Rouse's roll in the Obama White House as kind of a "jack of all trades" experienced hand.  Sounds good to me.  The major hirings left in the West Wing is the communications shop.  It appears Kate Bedingfield and Symone Sanders are in line to fill out the department.  I'm hoping for Bedingfield as Comms Director and Sanders as press secretary, which seems like what will happen.  Sanders as press secretary would be damn cool.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Everytime I read the thread title I think of this awesome Korean cooking show my roommate used to watch where they have a celebrity on and then they bring out their fridge and they have two chefs make competing meals with the contents of the fridge.  I'd feel more positive about Biden if they could do this with his kitchen.

[DMC]

16 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

Everytime I read the thread title I think of this awesome Korean cooking show my roommate used to watch where they have a celebrity on and then they bring out their fridge and they have two chefs make competing meals with the contents of the fridge.  I'd feel more positive about Biden if they could do this with his kitchen.

LOL, well you just gave me a more valid reason to keep on bumping the thread.

[DMC]

Deb Haaland getting some love:

Quote

More than 50 House Democrats are making a formal push for President-elect Joe Biden to select Rep. Deb Haaland as his Interior secretary. [...]

The letter, led by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, was delivered to the Biden transition team this week. Grijalva also endorsed Haaland for the post this week in a letter to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The letter was signed by about half of the Democrats on the committee. The signatories include progressives such as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), as well as members of the moderate Blue Dog Caucus, such as Reps. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii).

Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who was elected assistant speaker on Wednesday, making her the No. 4 House Democrat, also signed the letter.

 

[DanteGabriel]

40 minutes ago, DMC said:

Deb Haaland getting some love:

 

She reps New Mexico so little chance of losing the seat, right? I tried to research the mechanism for replacing US Reps and couldn't get a solid answer.

[DMC]

25 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

She reps New Mexico so little chance of losing the seat, right? I tried to research the mechanism for replacing US Reps and couldn't get a solid answer.

Yeah the seat should be fine.  Cook PVI of D+7 and it includes 3/4s of Albuquerque.  If she's confirmed, since the vacancy will be in the first year of the congressional session there will be a special election.  I dunno about New Mexico's laws specifically (and you're right that's hard to find in a pinch), but it's part of the constitution and federal law:

Quote

During the first two-year session of a Congress, all states, territories, and the District of Columbia are required by current federal law to hold special elections to fill any vacant House seat. However, during the second session of a Congress, procedures often vary depending on the amount of time between the date the vacancy occurs and the date of the next general election. For example, under Section 8 of Title 2, United States Code, a state’s governor can hold a special election at any time in extraordinary circumstances, such as a crisis resulting in the number of vacancies in the House exceeding 100 of the 435 seats. 

According to the U.S. Constitution and state law, the governor of the state calls for a special election to replace the vacant House seat. The full election cycle must be followed including political party nominating processes, primary elections and a general election, all held in the congressional district involved. The entire process often takes as long as from three to six months.

The wording of that first paragraph is confusing, but it means the first year of a two year session.

[Mindwalker]

Apparently Michèle Flournoy is floated as the leading candidate for Sec of Defense.

But it would also be divisive among progressives. She serves on the board of a major defense contractor and co-founded a consulting firm that’s done business with companies in the tech and defense industries, raising concerns that her appointment would secure more influence for weapons makers. Her foreign policy views, especially on China, have also attracted scorn from antiwar leftists, who consider her excessively hawkish.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/11/progressives-weigh-fight-over-bidens-defense-secretary-pick/

[DMC]

4 hours ago, Mindwalker said:

Apparently Michèle Flournoy is floated as the leading candidate for Sec of Defense.

Yeah she's been the frontrunner since, like, 2016 - Hillary was widely expected to nominate her to the post if she had won.

In other news, Biden says he's decided on a Treasury Secretary and will announce the choice soon:

Quote

“You’ll soon hear my choice for Treasury, either just before or just after Thanksgiving,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware.

“It’s someone who will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, from the progressive to the moderate coalitions,” he added.

Based on that second statement, sounds like a good bet the pick will indeed be Lael Brainard.

[DanteGabriel]

I'm seeing stuff about Merrick Garland for AG? I liked the Doug Jones idea, this would seem kind of a waste of a Cabinet spot.

[DMC]

25 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

I'm seeing stuff about Merrick Garland for AG? I liked the Doug Jones idea, this would seem kind of a waste of a Cabinet spot.

Yeah that seems a really weird choice, one I'd definitely oppose.  Sounds more like giving him some props/shout out for enduring that bullshit.  Hopefully.

[DMC]

Axios is reporting Biden has also settled on a choice for State, as well as Treasury.  According to them, it will not be Rice, and instead Blinken:

Quote

So far, Biden's inner circle has remained leak-proof on the names of his final selections. But sources tell Axios that the nation's top diplomatic post will not go to Susan Rice, an indication Biden doesn't want to begin his presidency with a standoff. [...]

Several Democrats close to Biden expect him to name his longtime adviser Tony Blinken to State. Biden aides declined to confirm Blinken is the pick.

Notably, the post goes on to say Biden's aforementioned statement on his Treasury pick suggests the choice is Janet Yellen, which makes me question the veracity of this reporting and/or its sources.

[SFDanny]

On 11/8/2020 at 8:59 AM, williamjm said:

Are there many Republican senators where a Democrat would appoint their replacement and who could be tempted away with a fancy job title?

Only place I can think of is Pennsylvania. Toomey is getting ready to retire in two years, but could an offer of a position be made by Biden to get him to jump early? Maybe an ambassadorship somewhere? With his Irish roots, maybe he would like to go to Dublin? Perhaps, he'd like to represent the US at the Vatican? Nice way to end a career. I doubt he gets any traction as a cabinet member. Lt. Gov. Fettermen is rumored interested in running for the job in two years, but I'm sure he'd love to run as the incumbent. Sorry, but I don't know enough about his relationship with the governor to know if that is even a possibility.

It needs to be a Republican Senator who doesn't give a damn about resigning his or her seat early and what it would do to the balance of the Senate. I don't know if Toomey qualifies in that regard. It would help if the Democrats win the two Georgia seats. 

Most of the other places where it could theoretically happen, won't because the Republican Senator is too repellant to be offered a job by the Biden administration, and that person would never accept if they were asked. Ron Johnson springs to mind.

Btw, here is a list of states where the Governor can make such an appointment.

[Larry of the Lawn]

14 hours ago, SFDanny said:

Only place I can think of is Pennsylvania. Toomey is getting ready to retire in two years, but could an offer of a position be made by Biden to get him to jump early? Maybe an ambassadorship somewhere? With his Irish roots, maybe he would like to go to Dublin? Perhaps, he'd like to represent the US at the Vatican? Nice way to end a career. I doubt he gets any traction as a cabinet member. Lt. Gov. Fettermen is rumored interested in running for the job in two years, but I'm sure he'd love to run as the incumbent. Sorry, but I don't know enough about his relationship with the governor to know if that is even a possibility.

It needs to be a Republican Senator who doesn't give a damn about resigning his or her seat early and what it would do to the balance of the Senate. I don't know if Toomey qualifies in that regard. It would help if the Democrats win the two Georgia seats. 

Most of the other places where it could theoretically happen, won't because the Republican Senator is too repellant to be offered a job by the Biden administration, and that person would never accept if they were asked. Ron Johnson springs to mind.

Btw, here is a list of states where the Governor can make such an appointment.

Would love to see Fetterman in the Senate