President-Elect Biden Begins to Name Cabinet Picks

President-elect Joe Biden made history yesterday after unveiling his picks for several key Cabinet positions. Biden said he wanted a team that “represents america” with a diverse range of backgrounds, views, and people and it appears he’s delivered on that promise. To start, he named Alejandro Mayorkas to head of the Department of Homeland Security. This makes him the first immigrant and first Latino to hold the position. Biden has also named the first female heads to several other major roles. This includes Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary and Avril Haines as the next Director of National Intelligence. Also notable is Biden’s decision to tap John Kerry as his Climate Envoy. Kerry is the former U.S. Secretary of State and was one of the leading architects of the Paris Climate Agreement. Other confirmed selections include Antony Blinken, who serves as a top foreign policy aide to Biden, as the next Secretary of State; Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; and Jake Sullivan as Biden’s National Security Adviser.