Fantasy Cabinet game, pt. 2

[beesley]

Barbara Lee for Secretary of State. I'm trying to pick in line with Inslee's real life considerations plus only picking Reps, rather than personal preference.

[beesley]

NY Rep. Brian Higgins seems a good fit for Secretary of HHS given that Inslee passed a public option in office, and it's an area he has solid expertise in. He would do well in a Parliamentary style arena. So he's my choice for that role.

[beesley]

Richard Cordray for Secretary of the Treasury

Sorry Kaiser- but while I really like the pick of Cordray at Treasury, he didn’t hold any of the required offices to be eligible for this project. Would you care to pick a different Midwesterner for the cabinet?

I think there's a case for some discretion here - if anything it makes more sense than allowing John Fetterman as you did earlier. Perhaps a compromise would be to allow one free for all (re job, not location of course).

[beesley]

Texas is the biggest state so far that I haven't picked anyone from yet. Until now - Veronica Escobar will be the Secretary of Homeland Security. This also provides Hispanic representation in the cabinet.

[beesley]

Tim Walz for Secretary of Defense. Federal experience, executive experience, and the highest ranking enlisted man to have served in Congress.

Another person I might have picked given the constraints I have on myself, along with Peter DeFazio whom was picked earlier. The draft aspect of this is working well.

Anyway, Missouri Rep and former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver at HUD please.

[beesley]

Ruben Gallego for Secretary of Defense, please.

[beesley]

Tough call between Jamie Raskin and Mary Gay Scanlon for AG, but I'll go with Raskin because of his constitutional law experience.

[beesley]

John Yarmuth for Secretary of the Treasury. That means the top 4 positions are filled, and I'm happy with who has filled them.


The Inslee Administration:


President: Jay Inslee (Member of Congress for Edmonds-San Juan)
Vice President: Terri Sewell (Birmingham-West Alabama)
Secretary of State: Barbara Lee (Oakland-Berkeley-Alameda)
Secretary of the Treasury: John Yarmuth (Louisville)
Secretary of Defense: Ruben Gallego (Phoenix Central)
Attorney General: Jamie Raskin (Rockville-Silver Spring-Westminster)
Secretary of the Interior:
Secretary of Agriculture:
Secretary of Commerce:
Secretary of Labor:
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Brian Higgins (Buffalo-Niagara)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Emanuel Cleaver (Kansas City-West Missouri)
Secretary of Transportation:
Secretary of Energy:
Secretary of Education:
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs:
Secretary of Homeland Security: Veronica Escobar (El Paso)

[beesley]

Apologies for missing the last round, I'll pick Chuy Garcia for Secretary of Transportation.

And for the West, Judy Chu for Secretary of Education.

This leaves me with two spots for men and three for women.

[beesley]

For Secretary of Agriculture, James McGovern is an easy choice, and this means New England is represented. South Atlantic is the only census region not represented yet.

[beesley]

Kathy Castor for Secretary of Energy - a pick that was sort of inevitable given the other people I picked. She seems to share Inslee's goals on climate change, though I assume he would very much lead from the top there.

[beesley]

Debbie Dingell for Secretary of Labor seems to be the only reasonable choice, given that my prospective Secretary of the Interior is male.

[beesley]

Debbie Dingell for Secretary of Labor seems to be the only reasonable choice, given that my prospective Secretary of the Interior is male.

Are you trying to hit certain demographic numbers? I find myself doing that even subconsciously sometimes!

Although it's not possible to get an even gender split, I think Inslee would aim for parity as much as possible. If I picked a Republican I wouldn't bother (it'd be pretty hard anyway). The regional balance is of course already in built, but I've tried to get fair representation in too (and in a parliamentary cabinet, various groups will want their fair share even more). Plus it suits my mind - I like these things to be balanced myself. Though I should add that in all cases I feel I could chose the 'best person for the role' (except Transportation, where KaiserDave beat me to it).

[beesley]

The Inslee Cabinet

President: Jay Inslee (Member of Congress for Edmonds-San Juan)
Vice President: Terri Sewell (Birmingham-West Alabama)
Secretary of State: Barbara Lee (Oakland-Berkeley-Alameda)
Secretary of the Treasury: John Yarmuth (Louisville)
Secretary of Defense: Ruben Gallego (Phoenix Central)
Attorney General: Jamie Raskin (Rockville-Silver Spring-Westminster)
Secretary of the Interior: Jared Huffman (California Northern Coast)
Secretary of Agriculture: James McGovern (Worcester)
Secretary of Commerce: Yvette Clarke (Flatbush-Sheepshead Bay)
Secretary of Labor: Debbie Dingell (Ann Arbor-South Wayne)
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Brian Higgins (Buffalo-Niagara)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Emanuel Cleaver (Kansas City-West Missouri)
Secretary of Transportation: Chuy Garcia (Chicago West-Berwyn-Riverside-Elmwood)
Secretary of Energy: Kathy Castor (Tampa)
Secretary of Education: Judy Chu (San Gabriel-San Marino)
Secretary of Veterans' Affairs: Chrissy Houlahan (Chester-Reading)
Secretary of Homeland Security: Veronica Escobar (El Paso)


That completes my parliamentary cabinet, assuming Inslee stayed in the US House of Parliament. Beyond that everyone here was a member of Congress and all are in districts won in 2018 and by Joe Biden.

The goals for this cabinet were:
-Fair representation across geography, gender and ethnicity/race
-Cabinet aligned with Inslee's 2020 policies
-The so-called right person for the job
-Consider a parliamentary cabinet and whether legislators are good fits for the role.

I guess I cheated, because I took that anyone who would be in a cabinet now would've had to have been a representative in the 2010s.

I think this does a fair job of all four goals. There were two people who didn't make it because they were already picked: Peter DeFazio (Transportation) and Elaine Luria (Veterans Affairs), but a small silver lining is that bigger states are represented. There are nine men and eight women as well, which I was able to preserve.