‘America is back’: Biden introduces historic Cabinet nominees who will ‘stand up for our values’
President-elect Joe Biden introduced his first batch of Cabinet nominees on Tuesday and described them as “unrelenting” professionals who will help “heal” the country after four years of Trump administration chaos.
In a pre-scripted ceremony that hankered back to a different era of American politics, Biden said the six nominees embody his “core beliefs that America is strongest when it works with its allies.”
“It is a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it,” said Biden, who was flanked on stage in Wilmington, Del., by his Cabinet picks and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. “Once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries, not reject our allies. Ready to stand up for our values.”
The proposed new hires — Anthony Blinken for secretary of state, Alejandro Mayorkas for Homeland Security secretary, Avril Haines for director of National Intelligence, Linda Thomas-Greenfield for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Jake Sullivan for national security adviser and John Kerry for special envoy on climate change — tout extensive experience in their respective fields and signal Biden’s hope to restore more traditional foreign policy and national security agendas.
The nominees, all of whom need to be confirmed by the Senate except for Sullivan and Kerry, also reflect Biden’s intention to form a Cabinet that “looks like America,” Harris said.
If confirmed, Haines would be the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community, while Mayorkas would be the first Latino and immigrant to head the Department of Homeland Security. Janet Yellen, who wasn’t on stage but is said to be Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, would become the first woman to serve in that post, too. Harris, for her part, is the first woman and African-American vice president-elect in U.S. history.
Kerry, a former secretary of state, is headed for a position that doesn’t exist yet.
Biden plans to establish Kerry’s post within the White House National Security Council, underscoring his commitment to making climate change mitigation a major part of his presidency.
“To end this crisis, the whole world must come together,” Kerry said in prepared remarks after Biden. “This kind of crisis demands that kind of leadership again and President Biden will provide it.”
The other nominees also delivered speeches laced with implicit rebukes of President Trump’s isolationist “America First” agenda.
“On this day, I’m thinking about the American people, my fellow career diplomats, public servants around the world,” said Thomas-Greenfield. “I want to say to you: America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back.”
Biden, Harris and the nominees wore face masks and socially distanced when they weren’t speaking, drawing another contrast with Trump, whose White House events have been largely oblivious to the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The unveiling of Cabinet picks came one day after Trump finally gave Biden approval to begin the presidential transition process after holding it up for 16 days over his baseless claim that Democrats rigged the 2020 election. Trump’s blockade precluded Biden’s team from accessing federal COVID-19 vaccine distribution protocols, top-secret intelligence briefings and other critical government resources.
Trump hasn’t admitted defeat, but states are already certifying Biden’s victory and Democrats interpreted the transition approval as the president’s own type of concession.
Biden didn’t take any questions from reporters at the Tuesday event, but touched briefly on Trump’s overdue transition ascertainment.
“I am pleased to have received the ascertainment to carry out a smooth and peaceful transition of power,” Biden said. “To the United States Senate: I hope these outstanding nominees receive a prompt hearing and that we can work across the aisle in good faith to move forward for the country. Let’s begin that work to heal and unite.”
