Joe Biden cabinet speculation megathread

[SInNYC]

Most presidents have one token member of the other party for a relatively unimportant cabinet post (or important in Obama's case, with Gates).

But if Biden really is considering multiple Rs this doesn't bode well for Ds in 2022 and 2024. Most voters dont even know the cabinet members, much less which party they are, and having DINO policies doesn't exactly energize voters especially if the economy doesn't recover quickly. And being against Trump doesn't make you a moderate - Kasich is as conservative as any Republican.

[Torrain]

Ignore Politico.

Words to live by

[brucejoel99]

https://news.yahoo.com/biden-reportedly-considering-former-senator-182159332.html

https://www.masslive.com/politics/2020/10/massachusetts-gov-charlie-baker-floated-as-possible-cabinet-member-for-joe-biden.html

https://www.whio.com/news/local/former-ohio-gov-kasich-being-considered-biden-cabinet-if-hes-elected-report-says/IEYMGFQ3OVEDREWBMK6URMAAF4/

Already being discussed elsewhere, but Biden is considering Charlie Baker, John Kasich and Jeff Flake for cabinet positions.

Any ideas which ones (Kasich, for example since he was previously OMB director, might be Treasury or Commerce, but I can't think of what Biden could be considering Baker or Flake for.)

Baker for something like Transportation/Energy & Meg Whitman for something like Commerce/Labor seem like the only legitimate possibilities. I don't imagine Kasich & Flake are actually legitimate Cabinet contenders.

No Republican should be running the Labor Department.

Oh yeah, definitely. Don't get me wrong, I don't support her being put in charge there, I just said that it seems like one of the few legitimate possibilities with regards to those mentioned in the article.

[GoTfan]

Bernie Sanders is reportedly interested in serving as Labor Secretary, according to Politico: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/22/bernie-sanders-biden-labor-secretary-431266

[redjohn]

https://twitter.com/cbudoffbrown/status/1321932991648718855

If Biden has Warren as Sec. of Treasury and Sanders as Sec. of Labor (two very presumptuous assumptions), he'll already be on the way to a pretty progressive administration.

[Lief 🗽]

https://twitter.com/cbudoffbrown/status/1321932991648718855

If Biden has Warren as Sec. of Treasury and Sanders as Sec. of Labor (two very presumptuous assumptions), he'll already be on the way to a pretty progressive administration.

Defending two senate special elections, even in Democratic states, could be tricky though.

[redjohn]

https://twitter.com/cbudoffbrown/status/1321932991648718855

If Biden has Warren as Sec. of Treasury and Sanders as Sec. of Labor (two very presumptuous assumptions), he'll already be on the way to a pretty progressive administration.

Defending two senate special elections, even in Democratic states, could be tricky though.

The only problem I can think of is that both states have Republican governors. I'm guessing Pressley would run (and win) in MA, not sure who's next in line in VT.

[ExSky]

The progressive democrats would need To find a new voice quickly should Bernie and Warren both depart the senate. Ayanna Presley certainly would be one (I simply don’t see Joe Kennedy beating her). Should Porter replace Harris, she’d be a great one.

[Heebie Jeebie]

I love Warren, but she should stay in the Senate.  I wouldn't mind seeing Richard Cordray at Treasury, though.

[Hope For A New Era]

The progressive democrats would need To find a new voice quickly should Bernie and Warren both depart the senate. Ayanna Presley certainly would be one (I simply don’t see Joe Kennedy beating her). Should Porter replace Harris, she’d be a great one.

Katie Porter, Queen of the Whiteboard

[Ferguson97]

Nobody with a Republican Governor is allowed to be in the cabinet, sorry. We can't risk losing our majority, which will likely be very narrow.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Secretary Warren is worth possibly losing a senate seat temporarily, honestly. But as long as we don’t run Martha Coakley again we should be fine.

[Lognog]

https://twitter.com/cbudoffbrown/status/1321932991648718855

If Biden has Warren as Sec. of Treasury and Sanders as Sec. of Labor (two very presumptuous assumptions), he'll already be on the way to a pretty progressive administration.

Charlie Baker entered the chat

[Horsemask]

Nobody with a Republican Governor is allowed to be in the cabinet, sorry. We can't risk losing our majority, which will likely be very narrow.

While I agree that he needs to be careful in the potential consideration of Senators from states with GOP governors, Dems in MA control a supermajority in the state legislature and can change the rule easily.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Nobody with a Republican Governor is allowed to be in the cabinet, sorry. We can't risk losing our majority, which will likely be very narrow.

While I agree that he needs to be careful in the potential consideration of Senators from states with GOP governors, Dems in MA control a supermajority in the state legislature and can change the rule easily.

The same is true in VT. When will this talking point die?

The special elections are another matter. Both would heavily favour Democrats even in a Biden midterm, but neither would be guarantees in the way CT, IL or NY would be today.

[NewYorkExpress]

Nobody with a Republican Governor is allowed to be in the cabinet, sorry. We can't risk losing our majority, which will likely be very narrow.

While I agree that he needs to be careful in the potential consideration of Senators from states with GOP governors, Dems in MA control a supermajority in the state legislature and can change the rule easily.

The same is true in VT. When will this talking point die?

The special elections are another matter. Both would heavily favour Democrats even in a Biden midterm, but neither would be guarantees in the way CT, IL or NY would be today.

Democrats only lose Vermont if Phil Scott runs.

Massachusetts is vulnerable if Baker/Politio runs (I can see Baker appointing Polito to serve as an incumbent ahead of her running in the special) AND a bad Democratic nominee comes out of the primary (think Martha Coakley, for example. A more relevant example might be Deval Patrick nowadays.)

[Mr. Morden]

Politico has a long list of prospective Cabinet picks:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook/2020/10/29/warren-wants-treasury-but-who-does-biden-want-490749

Perez is just one of the many names popping up for prospective Biden Cabinet posts, as speculation grows more feverish less than a week out from the election. Plenty of the names being floated are just that: speculation. But conversations with those in Biden’s orbit and others in relevant fields suggests some favorites are starting to emerge. Here are the names that keep coming up the most in recent conversations on each department:

DEFENSE: Former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy

STATE: Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Chris Coons

TREASURY: Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson

JUSTICE: Perez, Sen. Doug Jones, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra

HOMELAND SECURITY: Becerra, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, North Carolina Health Secretary Mandy Cohen

ENERGY: Former Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former Assistant Energy Secretary Dan Reicher, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

INTERIOR: Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Deb Haaland

EPA: Inslee, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols

AGRICULTURE: Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Marcia Fudge

COMMERCE: Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former eBay and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman

LABOR: Rep. Andy Levin, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs

EDUCATION: Former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Stanford professor emeritus Linda Darling Hammond

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Rep. Karen Bass

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Assistant Transportation Secretary Beth Osborne, Rep. Earl Blumenauer

U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, former Biden General Counsel Nelson Cunningham

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.N. AMBASSADOR: Amb. Wendy Sherman, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

[ProgressiveModerate]

Politico has a long list of prospective Cabinet picks:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook/2020/10/29/warren-wants-treasury-but-who-does-biden-want-490749

Perez is just one of the many names popping up for prospective Biden Cabinet posts, as speculation grows more feverish less than a week out from the election. Plenty of the names being floated are just that: speculation. But conversations with those in Biden’s orbit and others in relevant fields suggests some favorites are starting to emerge. Here are the names that keep coming up the most in recent conversations on each department:

DEFENSE: Former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy

STATE: Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Chris Coons

TREASURY: Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson

JUSTICE: Perez, Sen. Doug Jones, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra

HOMELAND SECURITY: Becerra, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, North Carolina Health Secretary Mandy Cohen

ENERGY: Former Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former Assistant Energy Secretary Dan Reicher, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

INTERIOR: Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Deb Haaland

EPA: Inslee, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols

AGRICULTURE: Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Marcia Fudge

COMMERCE: Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former eBay and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman

LABOR: Rep. Andy Levin, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs

EDUCATION: Former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Stanford professor emeritus Linda Darling Hammond

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Rep. Karen Bass

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Assistant Transportation Secretary Beth Osborne, Rep. Earl Blumenauer

U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, former Biden General Counsel Nelson Cunningham

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.N. AMBASSADOR: Amb. Wendy Sherman, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Really want to avoid opening up senate seats, even in Democratic controlled states as you never know what will happen in special elections

[RaphaelDLG]

Politico has a long list of prospective Cabinet picks:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook/2020/10/29/warren-wants-treasury-but-who-does-biden-want-490749

Perez is just one of the many names popping up for prospective Biden Cabinet posts, as speculation grows more feverish less than a week out from the election. Plenty of the names being floated are just that: speculation. But conversations with those in Biden’s orbit and others in relevant fields suggests some favorites are starting to emerge. Here are the names that keep coming up the most in recent conversations on each department:

DEFENSE: Former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy

STATE: Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Chris Coons

TREASURY: Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson

JUSTICE: Perez, Sen. Doug Jones, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra

HOMELAND SECURITY: Becerra, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, North Carolina Health Secretary Mandy Cohen

ENERGY: Former Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former Assistant Energy Secretary Dan Reicher, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

INTERIOR: Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Deb Haaland

EPA: Inslee, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols

AGRICULTURE: Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Marcia Fudge

COMMERCE: Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former eBay and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman

LABOR: Rep. Andy Levin, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs

EDUCATION: Former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Stanford professor emeritus Linda Darling Hammond

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Rep. Karen Bass

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Assistant Transportation Secretary Beth Osborne, Rep. Earl Blumenauer

U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, former Biden General Counsel Nelson Cunningham

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.N. AMBASSADOR: Amb. Wendy Sherman, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Really want to avoid opening up senate seats, even in Democratic controlled states as you never know what will happen in special elections

Agree, but Treasury is so important and Elizabeth Warren would be so much better than other potential choices

[ProgressiveModerate]

Politico has a long list of prospective Cabinet picks:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/transition-playbook/2020/10/29/warren-wants-treasury-but-who-does-biden-want-490749

Perez is just one of the many names popping up for prospective Biden Cabinet posts, as speculation grows more feverish less than a week out from the election. Plenty of the names being floated are just that: speculation. But conversations with those in Biden’s orbit and others in relevant fields suggests some favorites are starting to emerge. Here are the names that keep coming up the most in recent conversations on each department:

DEFENSE: Former Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy

STATE: Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Chris Coons

TREASURY: Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Roger Ferguson

JUSTICE: Perez, Sen. Doug Jones, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra

HOMELAND SECURITY: Becerra, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, North Carolina Health Secretary Mandy Cohen

ENERGY: Former Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former Assistant Energy Secretary Dan Reicher, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee

INTERIOR: Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Deb Haaland

EPA: Inslee, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols

AGRICULTURE: Former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rep. Marcia Fudge

COMMERCE: Ariel Investments co-CEO Mellody Hobson, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former eBay and Quibi CEO Meg Whitman

LABOR: Rep. Andy Levin, California Labor Secretary Julie Su, AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs

EDUCATION: Former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, AFT President Randi Weingarten, Stanford professor emeritus Linda Darling Hammond

HOUSING & URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Former Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown, former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Rep. Karen Bass

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, former Assistant Transportation Secretary Beth Osborne, Rep. Earl Blumenauer

U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Rep. Jimmy Gomez, Rep. Stephanie Murphy, former Biden General Counsel Nelson Cunningham

VETERANS AFFAIRS: Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.N. AMBASSADOR: Amb. Wendy Sherman, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Really want to avoid opening up senate seats, even in Democratic controlled states as you never know what will happen in special elections

Agree, but Treasury is so important and Elizabeth Warren would be so much better than other potential choices

Definately, but it would suck if we had a Scott Brown redux that costs us the actual senate majority

[Indy Texas]

If JPKIII succeeds Warren in the Senate and serves alongside Markey, will that be the frostiest same-party Senate delegation relationship since Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins?

[GoTfan]

The Treasury Secretary defines an administration's fiscal policy. Having Warren write the Biden administration's fiscal policy is tremendous victory for progressives.

[Ferguson97]

The Treasury Secretary defines an administration's fiscal policy. Having Warren write the Biden administration's fiscal policy is tremendous victory for progressives.

I prefer Brainard but Warren would be fine as well.

[Del Tachi]

I bet Keisha Lance Bottoms is in the mix for HUD, Transportation or maybe even DHS, too

[Mr. Morden]

https://twitter.com/axios/status/1323032110244966404