Reference News Network reported on December 3rd. The website of France’s weekly Express published an article entitled “America: Democratic Left, Poor Relatives of the Biden Administration?” written by Paul Veronik on December 1.
According to the report, Joe Biden is building his future government team step by step.
After announcing the candidates for foreign policy and homeland security last week, the White House communication liaison and economic team were appointed on Sunday local time and Monday local time. Biden once again appears to be more inclined to appoint centrists and is more feminine and diverse. The full text is excerpted as follows:
For the first time in American history, an all-female White House senior communications liaison team will appear. Jane Psaki will serve as the high-profile White House Press Secretary.
She served as the director of the White House Communications Liaison Office during the Obama administration. Cecelia Laws was nominated as Chairman of the President’s Economic Advisers Committee, which was the first time that an African-American woman had held the position.
Centrist “Veteran”
But aside from this formal diversity, Biden has not deviated from his usual ideological line. He has always used centrist “veteran” rather than included some important Democrats on the left in the team.
Although there were indications that Elizabeth Warren would be appointed as Secretary of the Treasury, the final nominee was indeed Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen. Similarly, the original Democratic primary candidate Pete Buttigieg was once rumored to be the Permanent Representative to the United Nations, but the final nomination was Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a senior African-American diplomat.
“The nominees were mainly centrists and close confidant of Joe Biden, many of whom were people he knew well and had served together during the Obama administration.”
Anna Daisyna, an honorary professor at the University of Paris X and an expert on American issues, stressed. Biden nominated Anthony Blinkincoln as Secretary of State for U.S. Foreign Policy, one of Biden’s most loyal followers and long served as Vice President Biden’s aide during the Obama administration. Kate Bedingfield will be the director of the White House Communications Liaison Office, where she served as Biden’s communications liaison director when he was vice president.
“The personnel are all selected from the centrists, and the Democratic Party wants to reassure the moderates. Therefore, those who are very extreme or too clear in political opinions will not be considered first when considering members of the government, although this will ultimately disappoint some people.”
According to the analysis of Brondina Cellini-Pon, a professor of contemporary history at the University of Aix-Marseille and an expert on American issues.
Partial nominations may be blocked in the Senate
The only deviation from this trend was the nomination of Nyla Tanden as director of the Administration and Budget Bureau. She is the head of the Center for American Progress Research, a center-left think tank, and her nomination has been praised by many progressives, especially Elizabeth Warren. One of the main reasons why Tanden was nominated is that he has made many attacks on Trump in recent years, when he was an adviser to Hillary Clinton.
However, this has now also made it the target of Republican criticism. “The road [of which the Senate approves his appointment] will be more tortuous given her aggressive and insulting comments on many senators and primarily from our camp,” Republican Senator John Corning told the media on Sunday.
In fact, it is difficult for Biden to nominate too left-wing figures in various administrations to important positions, because they need to be approved by the Senate later. Currently, Republicans hold 50 seats in the Senate, while Democrats have only 48 seats. The remaining two seats will not know their affiliation until Georgia’s second election in January.
“Nila Tanden would struggle to pass because of her leftist status if the Republican Party continued to control the Senate. What’s more, there are many progressives like Elizabeth Warren cheering for Tanden’s nomination.” Brondina Cellini-Pone believes.
In any case, by focusing on diversity in nominations, Biden has now managed to avoid angering the left. Anna Daissina said: “So far, it seems to be united. Nancy Pelosi’s re-election to the House of Representatives easily shows that there is a realistic principle and some kind of unity within the Democratic Party.” However, it also depends on whether this solidarity can last over time and the introduction of policies.
