Xavier Becerra would be first Latino to lead the agency as it faces an unprecedented public health challenge
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10.28am GMT
Joe Biden has had a fairly smooth cabinet appointment process so far, but there are rumblings that it could get choppier, and speculation that the Democratic president-elect may take a leaf out of the Donald Trump playbook to try to get the team he wants.
Publicly, Democrats are hopeful that the confirmation processes for all of Biden’s cabinet nominees will go smoothly. But looming over the Biden team’s planning is the possibility that Republicans in the Senate decide to stonewall a nominee, blocking confirmation of anyone Biden puts forward.
Related: Biden mulls options in case Republicans try to block cabinet picks
10.21am GMT
Alex Seitz-Wald has this for NBC News this morning, suggesting that while Biden’s Cabinet isn’t shaping up to be a progressives’ dream team, it’s far from their nightmare scenario. He writes:
Elizabeth Warren is not going to be treasury secretary. Bernie Sanders seems unlikely to lead the Labor Department. And progressives have so far failed to persuade president-elect Joe Biden to put their favored candidates in top jobs for his administration.
But they appear to have succeeded in making enough noise to keep out their biggest foes, at least for now.
Continue reading…Xavier Becerra would be first Latino to lead the agency as it faces an unprecedented public health challengeMillions of Californians put under strict Covid lockdownRudy Giuliani has coronavirus, Donald Trump saysIn Georgia TV debate Loeffler refuses three times to accept Biden victory Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email 10.28am GMTJoe Biden has had a fairly smooth cabinet appointment process so far, but there are rumblings that it could get choppier, and speculation that the Democratic president-elect may take a leaf out of the Donald Trump playbook to try to get the team he wants.Publicly, Democrats are hopeful that the confirmation processes for all of Biden’s cabinet nominees will go smoothly. But looming over the Biden team’s planning is the possibility that Republicans in the Senate decide to stonewall a nominee, blocking confirmation of anyone Biden puts forward. Related: Biden mulls options in case Republicans try to block cabinet picks 10.21am GMTAlex Seitz-Wald has this for NBC News this morning, suggesting that while Biden’s Cabinet isn’t shaping up to be a progressives’ dream team, it’s far from their nightmare scenario. He writes:Elizabeth Warren is not going to be treasury secretary. Bernie Sanders seems unlikely to lead the Labor Department. And progressives have so far failed to persuade president-elect Joe Biden to put their favored candidates in top jobs for his administration.But they appear to have succeeded in making enough noise to keep out their biggest foes, at least for now. Continue reading…