Joe Biden bets on old allies to help him face new crises

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Together, they represent the fulfillment of a promise – dating back to the early days of the primary – that Biden would prioritize expertise and governance experience steeped in the moderate mainstream of the Democratic Party. But he has also been criticized, mainly from the left, for closing his eyes to the challenges he will face in getting Republicans to the table and not widening his inner circle.

It’s a group, Biden allies say, assembled in the knowledge that the new president will enter office with no room for bureaucratic hiccups, unnecessary drama, or on-the-job training. The coronavirus pandemic is killing thousands of Americans every day and decimating the economy, while revealing disastrous gaps in the social safety net.

“Normally, a new administration tries to measure their success and plan their performance for the first hundred days. But this is a team that doesn’t have that kind of luxury,” said New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, a former public servant who worked at the Pentagon and the State Department. “This is a team that should be posted not for a hundred days, but for a hundred hours.”

Towing the Trump administration has made the situation even more complicated. A presidential appointee in November postponed formal recognition of the election results, temporarily banning Biden executives from the offices they will soon be taking over. And Trump continues to publicly bolster absurd claims about faked elections as he talks about dead-end plots to destroy its results.

“What gives me comfort,” said Kim, amid uncertainty about the administration’s cooperation, “is knowing that this Biden team already knows how to govern, that this is a team that has been tested.”

Breaking through in the inner circle

But some of the choices Kim says to help him sleep better at night have also plagued Democrats who hoped Biden would cast a bigger net. Biden has said he wants to be a “bridge” to a new generation of leaders. But many of those closest to him, especially in senior White House positions, are either loyalists or gray Party agents.

Tuesday’s announcement that Bruce Reed, Biden’s chief of staff as vice president, will be his deputy chief of staff next year underscored the president-elect’s desire to surround himself with longtime allies – even as they anger some in the party. Leading progressives have argued for weeks that Reed, a centrist who worked on the 1994 Crime Act and welfare reform while in Bill Clinton’s White House, should be shut out.

Progressive players vying to embed leaders from their own ranks have widely praised the campaign and transition for being accessible, but have found that convincing Biden to step out of his comfort zone can be the biggest hurdle to overcome.

“The real challenge,” said Julian Brave NoiseCat, the vice president of policy and strategy at Data for Progress, “is more about who’s in the inner circle – and how do you get people who aren’t in the inner circle into consideration? ?. “

Biden’s inner sanctuary of aides is on track to maintain a list of the most influential jobs in the White House. Upcoming Chief of Staff Ron Klain is a longtime confidant of Biden and Steve Ricchetti, another close ally, will be the president’s counselor. Mike Donilon, who held that position in Biden’s vice presidential office, has been named senior adviser to the president.
Antony Blinken, Biden’s top foreign policy adviser, will be a short walk away at the State Department, which he has been nominated to lead. Susan Rice, Denis McDonough, John Kerry, Tom Vilsack, and Vivek Murthy are among the Obama veterans likely to join Biden – with Vilsack and Murthy nominated for the same positions they held under Obama.
Biden has also recruited a number of progressive leaders led by New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland, for top positions and more for influential but less important advisory positions.

The additions on Monday of a former top assistant to Senator Elizabeth Warren, Bharat Ramamurti, as deputy director of the National Economic Council for Financial Reform and Consumer Protection, and Joelle Gamble, as the president’s special assistant for economic policy, drew Biden’s National Economic Council were big victories for liberals. And the same announcement that included Reed also mentioned Gautam Raghavan, Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal before joining the transition, as Deputy Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel.

But the government’s marquee still stands in the middle, creating a roster so far that largely reflects the politics of the president-elect as he tries to fulfill his promise to assemble a team that “ on America ” seems’.

That effort has produced a whirlwind of historic firsts, starting with his decision in August to address California Senator Kamala Harris, who will soon become the first black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as vice president.
In recent weeks, Biden has been rolling economics, public health and foreign policy teams full of trailblazing nominees. Among them, pending Senate approval: former Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen, the first woman to hold that job, who is now in line to do the same as Secretary of the Treasury. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, selected to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, would be the first Latino to hold that position. Retired Army General Lloyd Austin is in line to be the first black person to lead the Department of Defense. Avril Haines, a veteran national security professional, is on track to be the first woman to serve as director of the national intelligence agency. Alejandro Mayorkas is said to be the first Latino and immigrant to run Homeland Security.
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s pick for the Transportation Department, will – if confirmed – become the first LGBTQ cabinet member to be approved by the Senate.

Liberals promise not to repeat old mistakes

The Biden transition is unique in the intense control it has received from a diverse assortment of advocacy groups and movement leaders.

It is the first process of filling out a democratic cabinet set in the age of social media. Those leading the charge of the left are also more informed and optimistic about the powers of the presidency and the leaders of the agencies than they were more than a decade ago, when Obama took office.

“The Revolving Door Project is an explicit response to what I saw as the failure of progressives in 2008 and 2009, but even more broadly throughout the Obama era to fully address the importance of the executive,” said Jeff Hauser , the watchdog group. founder and director. “Mainly the transition, but through.”

But Hauser, whose criticisms of nominees and possible choices about their business ties have reportedly vexed some around Biden, is more of a wonk-with-a-cause – to pressure Democrats to aggressively pursue their agenda by any means available. – then a rebel firebrand.

“I understand that amid all these crises, there is a preference for expertise,” Hauser said. “Biden thinks he has a mandate for that based on how he positioned himself in the primary. And whether it’s exactly what I would do or not, I can respect that as a basis.”

The questions that go beyond, he added, are unlikely to be answered in headlines and catchy nominations for massive bureaucracies, but on the pecking order as Biden, his team and senior administration leaders assistant secretary, undersecretary and chief of personnel jobs – all the odds to bring in less experienced but experienced people from outside the chaos of Washington, DC.

Melissa Byrne, a former assistant to Senator Bernie Sanders who spent time on the first Obama campaign and volunteered for a period of his transition, argued that the White House would benefit empowerment of personnel with a movement background during the inevitable conflicts with tough Republicans.

Her concern speaks to wider concerns among Democrats, who are concerned that Biden’s job may overestimate her ability to negotiate in good faith with a radicalized, Trump-loyal GOP.

“You need people who don’t hesitate when the going gets tough. Because this is going to be really tough. I don’t know if people are really prepared for what the Trumpers are going to do in the next four years,” Byrne said. “It will make the Tea Party look like they are Obama’s best friends.”

The promise of Biden’s campaign, in the primaries and the general election battle with Trump, also looms in post-campaign decision-making. His mandate is huge and complicated, and when he takes office and starts pushing his agenda, it could create conflicting demands.

The biggest challenge ahead, said Nina Smith, a former campaign advisor to Buttigieg, will simply be “ politics. ”

“Biden presents himself as a healer and healers deal with wounds and scars. And this is a country deeply wounded and scarred,” Smith said. “So the politics of everything from the policies he pursues, to who shows up at various meetings, to who he hires to carry out his agenda – it’s all on the table.”

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