McConnell may stop Biden from picking liberal Cabinet: report

Sources say Joe Biden's transition team is considering prospective Cabinet nominees who will be on the moderate side

Nov 5, 2020

According to a new report, potential president Joe Biden may limit his Cabinet choices to moderates if he does take office.

As Axios reports, the former vice president’s transition team will consider limiting its prospective Cabinet nominees to those who satisfy Mitch McConnell. According to the outlet, this could keep many progressive Democrats out of the running for high-ranking positions. Sources told Axios Biden may go with centrist options such as economist Lael Brainard for Treasury Secretary or Tony Blinken, former Deputy National Security Advisor for Secretary of State instead of more left-leaning politicians like Susan Rice and Stacey Abrams.

A source close to McConnell says a “Republican Senate would work with Biden on centrist nominees but no ‘radical progressives’ or ones who are controversial with conservatives.”

“It’s going to be armed camps,” the source said.

The outlet previously reported that the Biden team considered an informal ban on naming Democratic U.S. senators to the Cabinet if he wins, which prevents consideration of Elizabeth Warren for Treasury or Bernie Sanders for Labor. Biden himself, focused on the election outcome, had not confirmed a potential Senate ban but it avoids having to choose replacements while the balance of the Senate is still at stake.

Susan Rice speaks onstage at the 10th Anniversary Women In The World Summit – Day 2 at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 11, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

But Politico reports Warren hopes to be Treasury Secretary in a Biden White House. Sources confirmed to the outlet: “She wants it.”

Biden officials may hold out for signals from McConnell about whether he’ll fight every nominee or only a few selected progressive options per Axios.

As theGrio reported, McConnell, the Senate majority leader, was re-elected to a seventh term in Kentucky, defeating Democrat Amy McGrath. According to the report, he won by boasting that his leadership post and close ties to President Donald Trump were political assets for the Bluegrass State. Trump won Kentucky by 30 percentage points.

A statement on the official website for the Biden-Harris Transition Team said that staffers are prepared to continue working towards an easy transition if Biden does win the presidency.

“The American people will determine who will serve as the next President of the United States. Votes are still being counted in several states around the country. The crises facing the country are severe — from a pandemic to an economic recession, climate change to racial injustice — and the transition team will continue preparing at full speed so that the Biden-Harris Administration can hit the ground running on Day One.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!