Joe Biden is already forming a government: here’s what his cabinet could look like
- Biden is expected to focus first on posts involving public health and the economy
- Biden can make history by nominating a person of colour or a woman to head the Treasury or Defence departments
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by David Sider on politico.com on November 7, 2020.
In the next two and half months, Joe Biden needs to build a governing team to help him tackle a historic pandemic and rebuild the economy – all while winning approval from what is likely to be a Republican-controlled Senate and holding together an unruly coalition of Democrats.
It's a task that will be nearly impossible to pull off.
The president-elect will face incoming on several fronts, including from Democrats who expect him to nominate the most diverse Cabinet in history. That goal is not always compatible with the push from the party's vocal left wing to nominate the most progressive Cabinet since Franklin D Roosevelt.
The Wall Street and Silicon Valley interests that poured money into Biden's campaign over the final stretch have a different set of priorities. So do Senate Republicans, at least a handful of whom Biden will need to confirm his nominees, if, as seems likely, the Republican Party maintains control of the chamber.