Thread by @dsamuelsohn

Expectations are high Joe Biden's administration will make history by picking more women to high-level Cabinet posts, including at DOD and Treasury. Here's who is on the shortlist: by @TinaSfon @Politicsinsider ($) ow.ly/xjQU50Cm9Vf

At least four women, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, are among the list of likely picks to lead the Defense Department. And six women, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are considered contenders for the top Treasury job.

Women who worked in senior roles in his campaign, including Kate Bedingfield, Symone Sanders, & Stef Feldman, are likely in line for posts in the incoming administration, according to a Democratic strategist close to the Biden team who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

So are former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, & Lael Brainard who is a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Sen. Amy Klobuchar & NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are also in the mix, the strategist told Insider.

"I think he [Biden] has an extraordinary opportunity to set up a cabinet that looks more like America than we've certainly seen in this administration," Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin told Insider last week.

The sheer volume of experienced women who Biden could tap to fill key posts in his Cabinet and White House is an exciting prospect for advocates who for years have demanded more representation in all aspects of government.

"Hallelujah. Amen," said Kate Coyne-McCoy, a Democratic political consultant who has pushed to get more women and more minorities into public office. "It's a brilliant relief from a miserable, rotten, four years of old white guys at the helm."

Just don't expect Biden to describe the women he's vetting the same way then-Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney did during the 2012 presidential campaign - aka the "binders full of women" moment.

"No, that is not happening," Coyne-McCoy, who founded KCM Consulting, said. "These people, these folks have real relationships and real knowledge about talented women that are everywhere. I mean. Come on. That is so Mitt Romney."

West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito sounded optimistic in an interview about the confirmation chances of the many women senators who may be in the running for Biden Cabinet posts.

"I think that having personal relationships with the people that are going to be confirming you is probably very helpful," Capito said.

One Dem strategist said Sen. Tammy Duckworth would only leave the Senate for a position atop the Pentagon. Several Dems say it's Michele Flournoy, who held high ranking positions in the DOD during the Obama and Clinton administrations, who has a great shot at that position.

Three Democratic strategists told Insider that Sen. Duckworth is not interested in leaving her Senate seat.

Biden has managed to build himself a reputation as a champion for women. In August, a campaign spokeswoman told Insider that his administration "would look like the country they serve."

The campaign also provided Insider with a list of 23 women in leadership roles or working as advisors to the Biden campaign at the time. That included senior advisors Anita Dunn and Julie Rodriguez, as well as campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon.

"For Joe Biden, representation matters and not just on paper," spokeswoman Rosemary Boeglin told Insider at the time.

Biden's transition said Friday it'd prioritize "diversity of ideology & background; talent to address society's most complex challenges; integrity & the highest ethical standards to serve the American people & not special interests; & transparency to garner trust at every stage."

Women across the country — even some Republicans — are waiting and watching to what Biden's Cabinet and White House looks like. "I am a strong proponent of women in the Cabinet, and I would certainly endorse that," Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski told @Politicsinsider

"When we're talking about more women, more women …" Murkowski added, giving a thumbs-up.

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