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Who’s Who of the Cabinet: A Current Breakdown of Biden’s Cabinet Picks

Who’s Who of the Cabinet: A Current Breakdown of Biden’s Cabinet Picks

With the presidential inauguration just over a month away, President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris are on pace to have a full cabinet by the time that they take the oath of office on January 21, 2021. So who do they have on the roster already? Here’s a who’s who of the current cabinet picks:

Secretary of State: Antony Blinken If the name sounds familiar, it is. Blinken served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 and Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. He also served in the State Department under President Bill Clinton.

Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen Yellen has worked as an economist for decades. She is currently a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor emeritus at Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Her speciality is fiscal and monetary policy. She previously served as Chair of the Federal Reserve Board (2014-2018), as Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Board (2010-2014), as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (2004-2010), and as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors (1997-1999).

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Secretary of Defense: Gen. Lloyd Austin Another Obama carryover, the four-star General commanded U.S. forces in Iraq and later led U.S. Central Command (Centcom) under the Obama Administration. If Austin is confirmed, ge would be the country’s first Black secretary of Defense.

Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack Vilsack will be returning to his old job as the Secretary of Agriculture, a position that he held from 2009 until 2017 under the Obama administration. Before that, Vilsack served as the Iowa Governor from 1999 to 2007.

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerra If Becerra is confirmed for the position, it will be a departure from the last few years that he has spent in law. He is currently the Attorney General of the State of California, a title that he has held since 2017. Prior to that, he was a Congressman, representing the district that includes downtown Los Angeles from 1993 to 2017.

Secretary of Housing & Urban Development: Marcia Fudge Fudge has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Ohio’s 11th congressional district since 2008. Prior to that, she served as the mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, from 2000 until 2008, making her both the city’s first female and first African American to hold the position.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough One of Obama’s most-trusted allies, McDonough served as President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff from 2013 to 2017. Prior to that, he served as assistant to the president and principal deputy national security adviser from September 2010 until February 2013. He also chaired the National Security Council’s Deputies Committee, which is responsible for formulating the administration’s national security and foreign policy.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas A former U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California during the Clinton administration, Mayorkas served under Obama as the Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009–2013 and then as the department’s Deputy Secretary from 2013 to 2016.

A comprehensive list of other expected White House staff can be found here. While none of the cabinet picks aside from Harris (who is officially considered a member of the cabinet) have been formally confirmed, it is expected that most will be confirmed.