Advertisement
| 2/4/2021 10:41 AM EST |
President Joe Biden has assembled, by some accounts, a history-making Cabinet: If all members are approved, it will be the most diverse array of presidential counselors ever.
But can he get them confirmed by the Senate? Democrats’ narrow control of the chamber has made the process far smoother for Biden’s nominees thus far, and the majority have won strong bipartisan support. But Republicans have managed to slow-walk others, who could prove more contentious.
We’re tracking each of Biden’s picks from nomination to a final floor vote below.
We've also tallied the senators voting against Biden's Cabinet picks.
Take a look
Lander is a genome sequencing pioneer who co-led the public arm of the Human Genome Project alongside NIH Director Francis Collins. As a geneticist, he's the first presidential science adviser ever who is not a physical scientist, and is also the first science adviser to be elevated to the Cabinet.
The Boston mayor, a former top union leader, is poised to step into the job of Labor secretary at one of the most critical points in history for American labor, with millions of people out of work and facing the loss of jobless benefits, and a narrowly divided Congress poised to stand in the way of Biden's labor initiatives.
68 Yes
No 29
In tapping California’s attorney general, Biden has selected an experienced politician to help oversee the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. A veteran of Washington, Becerra spent nearly 25 years in the House of Representatives, and sat on the powerful House Ways and Means subcommittee overseeing health issues. Yet he has not held a top health policy position before.
50 Yes
No 49
Advertisement
Tai, a House Ways and Means Committee trade lawyer and former China enforcement head at USTR, has expertise that can help the U.S. confront Beijing on issues such as intellectual property rights, while preserving a functioning trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies, backers say.
98 Yes
No 0
Guzman served in the Obama administration’s SBA and, more recently, as director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate. If confirmed, she will take the helm of the once low-key agency that has been tasked with doling out massive amounts of aid to struggling employers during the pandemic.
81 Yes
No 17
Haaland’s selection puts her on track to be the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history. And it positions Biden's Interior Department to build on the budding alliances between tribes and environmental groups that have been formed in recent years to battle fossil fuel projects like the Dakota Access pipeline, expand land conservation and keep water in overdrawn rivers.
51 Yes
No 40
Advertisement
HUD will play a key role in the incoming administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused millions of people to fall behind on rent and mortgage payments. If confirmed, Fudge, a Cleveland-area congresswoman and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, will also take over amid an acute housing crisis.
66 Yes
No 34
Garland has served on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for more than two decades but was denied a chance to sit on the Supreme Court by Senate Republicans, who refused to hold a vote on his nomination. If confirmed, Garland will be handed a number of thorny issues at DOJ, including whether and how to investigate former President Trump.
70 Yes
No 30
If confirmed, Regan, North Carolina's top environmental regulator, will take charge of the agency most central to carrying out Biden's ambitious climate change plans, which call for eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from the power grid by 2035. The pick is a major nod to the party's progressive wing that pushed Biden's team to emphasize minority and poor communities facing threats from pollution.
66 Yes
No 34
Advertisement
The Rhode Island governor will preside over a sprawling, diverse department, whose functions include forecasting the weather, managing ocean fisheries and setting international product standards. She will also be landing in the middle of several international trade disputes that were begun under President Donald Trump.
84 Yes
No 15
As dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Rouse wrote an open letter calling for further public relief amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Her background in labor economics will be key experience as she helps the White House navigate a path forward for the coronavirus-battered economy.
95 Yes
No 4
Cardona’s selection fulfills Biden’s campaign promise to name an educator with public school experience as his nominee for the post. The Connecticut Education commissioner has spent his entire career in the state, working as an elementary school teacher, principal, district administrator and assistant superintendent, as well as adjunct professor before being named Connecticut’s state chief last year.
64 Yes
No 33
Advertisement
Granholm, a former two-term governor of Michigan, is experienced in dealing with the auto industry — a potentially big advantage as the new president seeks to speed the rollout of electric vehicles and the network of charging stations needed to power them.
64 Yes
No 35
Thomas-Greenfield spent 35 years in the foreign service, including as ambassador to Liberia and assistant secretary of State for African affairs. She also spent time as a top human resources official at the State Department, and could provide Biden valuable advice as he seeks to rebuild morale among U.S. diplomats, who often felt cut out in the Trump administration.
78 Yes
No 20
Vilsack served as Agriculture secretary for eight years during the Obama administration, experience that was instrumental in his nomination. The president wants someone leading the department who can immediately tackle the hunger and farm crises that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
92 Yes
No 7
Advertisement
In McDonough, Biden nominated a longtime Obama aide who served as the president's chief of staff from 2013 to 2017, and before that as his deputy national security adviser. Biden picked McDonough because he felt he was crisis-tested and knows how to pull the levers of government, skills that could come in handy at the controversy-plagued agency.
87 Yes
No 7
Buttigieg’s confirmation marks the culmination of a meteoric rise in politics over the past two years from the mayor of South Bend, Ind., to the first openly gay Cabinet secretary. With little in the way of transportation policy experience, he faces a steep learning curve as he takes over an agency with nearly 55,000 employees and more than a dozen administrations overseeing the nation’s airspace, highway system and much more.
86 Yes
No 13
Mayorkas is the first Latino secretary in the department’s nearly 18-year history. During the Obama administration, he helped implement the DACA program and will be responsible for strengthening it, along with other immigration programs, under Biden.
56 Yes
No 43
Advertisement
Blinken is a longtime Biden aide and a key member of his 2020 campaign team. He served on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and was Democratic staff director for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Biden was chair.
78 Yes
No 22
In picking the former Federal Reserve chair to serve as his first Treasury secretary, Biden is leaning on a well-known figure who is trusted and beloved by most Democrats, respected by many Republicans, acceptable by Wall Street and aligned with the no-surprises approach expected to be a hallmark of the president’s tenure.
84 Yes
No 15
In picking Austin, Biden chose a barrier-breaking former four-star officer who was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and the first to oversee an entire theater of operations. With his confirmation, he became the first Black secretary of Defense, as well. Biden and Austin formed a relationship when they worked together in the Obama administration.
93 Yes
No 2
Advertisement
With her confirmation, Haines became the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. intelligence community and the first female director of national intelligence. She served as a deputy national security adviser and deputy CIA director under Obama, where she was involved in the controversial use of drone strikes to target terrorists.
84 Yes
No 10
Under the Biden administration, the OMB chief could play a central role in carrying out an ambitious climate agenda or health care expansion for millions of Americans through rulemaking across federal agencies. Tanden's nomination was pulled after fierce Republican resistance, and no replacement has been presented yet. (Tanden herself is now a senior adviser to Biden, a post that doesn't need Senate approval.)
Biden’s nominees have won an unexpected level of bipartisan support so far, but a segment of Republican senators has opposed nearly every nominee.
Right now, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has opposed the most candidates, with 19 no votes. So far, no Democrats have opposed a Biden nominee.
As partisanship has sharpened over the past two decades, Cabinet stonewalling has become more common. In 2017, many of the Democratic senators who eventually ran for president — including now-Vice President Kamala Harris — opposed most of Trump’s nominees.
Data from Congress.gov. Photos from Getty Images.