Blinken is a longtime Biden aide and a key member of his 2020 campaign team. He's well regarded by foreign diplomats and can pass muster with Republicans in the Senate, where he will have to seek confirmation politi.co/3gt28gp
Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas
Mayorkas, who served as the DHS deputy secretary during the Obama administration, would be the first Latino secretary in the department’s nearly 18-year history if confirmed politi.co/39T5yYT
UN ambassador: Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Thomas-Greenfield spent 35 years in the Foreign Service, including as ambassador to Liberia and assistant secretary of State for African affairs. She’s one of the most prominent Black female diplomats in Washington politi.co/3qDWRY6
Director of national intelligence: Avril Haines
Haines would become the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. intelligence community and the first female director of national intelligence politi.co/3oyZuIX
Global climate czar: John Kerry
As secretary of State under President Obama, Kerry served as chief negotiator for the U.S. on the Paris climate change accord. He also served in the Senate for 28 years – alongside Biden for all but the last five of them politi.co/33VwdAn
Treasury secretary: Janet Yellen
She's a well-known figure who is trusted and beloved by most Democrats, respected by many Republicans, acceptable to Wall Street and aligned with the no-surprises approach expected to be a hallmark of Biden's tenure politi.co/39PBuxb
OMB director: Neera Tanden
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 could easily step into that job. politi.co/2Lnsg17
HHS secretary: Xavier Becerra
Becerra is an experienced politician to help oversee the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. He spent nearly 25 years in the House of Representatives, culminating in a stint as chair of the Democratic caucus politi.co/2LleBHN
Defense secretary: Lloyd Austin
Austin was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and the first to oversee an entire theater of operations. If confirmed, he would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon politi.co/2LbEgT2
More on the the people Biden has chosen for Cabinet posts and those in the mix for positions that have yet to be filled 👇
Joe Biden has chosen Rep. Marcia Fudge to serve in his Cabinet as HUD secretary. But elevating her from the House gives Democrats a 220-seat majority — just a five-seat edge over the GOP, and a two-vote cushion to get bills through the chamber. politi.co/3n4LCG3
📷 AP
That vote margin is incredibly tight. In fact, it's the smallest Democratic majority our @playbookplus authors could find since 1893. The 220 is also the smallest majority since the GOP had a slight dominance in 2001. politico.com/newsletters/pl…
Yes, there will be a special election to fill Fudge's seat. And with Rep. Cedric Richmond resigning to head Biden's Office of Public Engagement, there will be a special election there too. And the majority will grow again. But special elections take time. politico.com/newsletters/pl…
British health authorities rolled out the first doses of a Covid-19 vaccine today.
The first shot was given to Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, at University Hospital Coventry.
"I say go for it," Keenan said. "If I can do it, so can you." politi.co/39Pmboc
And yes, in British fashion, the second second injection went to a man named William Shakespeare. He's an 81-year-old who hails from Warwickshire, the county where the bard was born. (He goes by Bill.) politi.co/39Pmboc
📷 AP
The U.K. is the first Western country to start a mass vaccination program after regulators authorized the use of a Pfizer/BioNTech injection last week. U.S. and E.U. regulators may approve the vaccine in coming days, fueling a global immunization effort. politi.co/39Pmboc
The closing days of the 116th Congress will essentially be 2020 in a nutshell. Here's a break down 👇politico.com/newsletters/hu…
Government funding expires at midnight on Friday. Congress will likely need to pass a short-term funding bill in order to give lawmakers more time to finalize an omnibus. It’s unclear if the extra week will be enough time to get a deal done this year. politico.com/newsletters/hu…
Lawmakers are also still trying to hammer out a last-minute Covid relief deal. The bipartisan group of lawmakers behind a $908B stimulus proposal held a “multi-hour” call yesterday. But there’s still a lot of work to be done toward a final deal. politico.com/newsletters/hu…
The House passage of the MORE Act is historic. It’s the first time either chamber of Congress has voted to dramatically change federal marijuana laws in 50+ years.
But it has no chance in the Senate. Here’s what to know, from @natsfert 👇
First, here’s what the MORE Act would do:
• Remove federal penalties on marijuana
• Expunge some records
• Levy a tax on cannabis products
• Create grant programs
But the MORE Act won’t pass the Senate. There are just weeks left in this Congress, and Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won’t consider voting on marijuana legalization. politi.co/3gnltzX
It is becoming abundantly clear that President-elect Joe Biden thinks clear communication and logical and sane management are needed to combat the Covid-19 crisis, our @playbookplus authors say
Biden is starting to give clues to how he will handle the virus.
He doesn’t want long shutdowns. “You don’t have to close down the economy,” he told Jake Tapper on CNN last night. politico.com/newsletters/pl…
Biden is issuing clear guidance for what he will do in the short and long term.
For example, he will tell people they need to wear masks for 100 days. And he will back that up with a mandate they must be worn in federal buildings and on buses and planes. politico.com/newsletters/pl…
The Nov. jobs report out at 8:30 a.m. is expected to show yet another decline in the pace of jobs returning from lockdowns just as the virus is raging out of control again and new lockdowns are starting to pile up. Consensus for 475K and 6.8% unemployment. politico.com/newsletters/mo…
But the Wall Street whisper number is significantly lower, more like 200K. In normal times this would be quite strong numbers. But these are not normal times. politico.com/newsletters/mo…
Update: U.S. job growth slowed in November for a 5th straight month to 245,000 in face of the surging pandemic — well below expectations politico.com/news/2020/12/0…