Biden Names More Cabinet Picks With Focus On Diversity And Climate Change

Plus: Reports: Biden Privately Pushing For Smaller Stimulus Deal As Covid Surges

TOPLINE

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate the first woman to lead the intelligence community and the first Latino to run the Department of Homeland Security, his transition team announced Monday, while John Kerry will be appointed the U.S.’ first ever climate czar, a sign the Democrat is hoping to emphasize diversity and the issue of climate change as president.

KEY FACTS

Biden announced he will nominate Avril Haines, former deputy director of the C.I.A. and deputy national security adviser, to become the first female Director of National Intelligence, and Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban-American lawyer, to become the first Latino to run the Department of Homeland Security. 

Last week, Biden promised to construct a diverse Cabinet that “looked like America” after four years of a mostly white and male Trump administration.

The Democrat will nominate a Black woman, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations while Antony Blinken will be nominated as Secretary of State and Jake Sullivan will be appointed National Security Advisor, confirming the New York Times’ reporting.

Kerry will be tapped to fill a new role on the National Security Council, which will not require Senate confirmation: "This marks the first time that the NSC will include an official dedicated to climate change,” Biden’s transition team said in a statement.

Sullivan, who is 43 years old, is set to become one of the youngest National Security Advisors in history, according to the Associated Press.

Sullivan, Haines and Blinken are all former Biden aides.

KEY BACKGROUND

Kerry served as former President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, helping usher the U.S. involvement in the Paris Climate accords. As a senator from Massachusetts, he was “aggressive” and passionate about climate policy, reportedly impressing colleagues with his expertise. “America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is,” Kerry tweeted Monday. “I'm proud to partner with the President-elect, our allies, and the young leaders of the climate movement to take on this crisis as the President's Climate Envoy.”

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