When President Joe Biden was inaugurated on January 20, he took office without key members of his Cabinet in place. This was a result of the previous Senate moving slower to schedule nominees than that of prior Presidents. After six years of Republican control, the chamber now led by Democrats can confirm nominees without Republican support with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie breaker in the evenly split Senate, but even still, there’s no guarantee all of his nominees will be confirmed.
As of this writing, of the 23 Cabinet level positions requiring Senate approval, thirteen have been confirmed. Those include:
- Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
- Antony Blinken , Secretary of State
- General Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense
- Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation
- Alejondro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
- Janet Yellen, Secretary of Treasury
- Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture
- Denis McDonough, Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs
- Linda Thomas-Greenfield, UN Ambassador
- Jennifer Granholm, Secretary of Energy
- Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Education
- Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce
- Ceclia Rouse, Chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisors
The following nominees are pending a confirmation vote:
- Marcia Fudge, for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Michael Regan, for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
- Marty Walsh, for Secretary of Labor
- Isabel Guzman, for Small Business Administrator
- Merrick Garland, for Attorney General
- Xavier Becerra, for Secretary of Health and Human Services
- Deb Haaland, for Secretary of Interior
- William Burns, for CIA director
- Katherine Tai, for U.S. Trade Representative
Neera Tanden for OMB director has withdrawn her nomination. She was facing stiff bipartisan opposition from most Republicans including Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. Senator Murkowski is one of the few Republicans who did not publicly oppose. Shalanda Young, who was selected as deputy director for OMB has emerged as a strong contender for the top job at OMB, but the White House has not named a replacement for Tanden. Stay tuned!
If all members nominated by President Biden are confirmed, then he will have assembled the most diverse Cabinet in the country’s history.