Biden's Transition Team Is Turning Heads For A Surprising Reason

There are plenty of pressing issues that President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will have to address when they assume office on January 20. But when the team takes over the reigns of government, we can expect the new administration to hold true to a campaign promise Biden made back in June, when he said: "My administration's going to look like America, not just my staff, the administration from the vice president straight down through Cabinet members to major players within the White House, and the court. It's going to be a reflection of who we are as a nation," (via CNN).

CNN says the diversity percentages of the people that make up the Biden-Harris transition team are a reflection of the country; 46 percent of the transition staff and 41 percent of senior staff are people of color; while women make up 52 percent of transition staff and 53 percent of those on top. The transition team's advisory board also reflects Biden's diversity pledge — meaning nine members of Biden's 13-person COVID-19 advisory board are people of color, and five are women.

Will the incoming Cabinet be as diverse as the transition team? Because the Biden-Harris team is at the forefront of a broad coalition of interests that include progressives within the Democratic Party and both Wall Street and Silicon Valley interests, several media organizations including The New York Times and Politico indicate that the governing team may have to tick boxes as presented by those groups, and be acceptable to Senate Republicans, like Mitch McConnell, who are still very much around.  

Politico suggests that the President-elect may choose to make history by bringing in a woman to lead the Treasury or the Defense departments, which have only ever had white men in charge. Some of the contenders named by The New York Times as possible heads for both departments include Michele Flournoy (Defense), Lael Brainard (Treasury), Elizabeth Warren (Treasury), and Janet Yellen (Treasury). Yellen has already made history by becoming the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 (via Britannica).