After over three weeks of Trump’s false cries and blame game over losing the 2020 US elections, he finally conceded defeat. The transition of power from Trump’s administration exiting the White House has begun. The official tasks are being handed over to President-elect Joe Biden and his administration. Gradually, Biden is also building his cabinet that is expected to make things right after Trump’s chaotic first-term in office.
Recently, Biden announced his top foreign policy and national security nominees. This includes two historic decisions. Biden has chosen Alejandro Mayorkas as the Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas, a Cuban-born, former deputy secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2016), is expected to restructure the Homeland Security. Trump’s Homeland Security did horrendous acts when it came to implementing immigration policies. It also separated families at the US-Mexico border. Mayorkas is expected to streamline the immigration process and follow protocols for the greater good. Biden’s second historic pick is Avril Haines as the National Intelligence Director. She will be the first woman in US history to hold this office. Previously, Haines became the first female to hold the position of Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2013-2015) under Barack Obama’s presidency.
Reports also suggest that Biden may nominate Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary. If confirmed, Yellen will be the first woman to serve in this position. Reports also mention Antony Blinken as the Secretary of State. Blinken was the Deputy Secretary of State (2015-2017) under Barack Obama’s second term. The National Security Advisor will be Jake Sullivan. From 2013 to 2014, Sullivan served as the National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the US and reported directly to the then Vice President, Joe Biden.
Joe Biden’s pick for the position of UN Ambassador is Linda Thomas-Greenfield. She was ignored by the Trump administration but Biden has rightfully given her due credit by picking her for one of the most demanding and sensitive jobs. She served as the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in the United States Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
Joe Biden’s cabinet reflects the diversity, multiplicity, and an assortment of culture, tradition, language, race, and beliefs. This cabinet is a polar opposite to the cabinet Donald Trump had created. Biden’s cabinet is a mini-world, where people from various castes and creeds, geographies and languages, converge on a single platform. Another major step taken by Biden is to name John Kerry as the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Kerry, the former United States Secretary of State (2013 to 2017), is an expert on the Paris climate agreement. Donald Trump had withdrawn the US from the Paris agreement that received resentment and criticism at the national and the international level. During his post-election speeches, Biden had assured that the US will re-join the Paris agreement and complete all major objectives to ensure the US continues to follow and implement key points under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Biden’s pick for Vice President is Kamala Devi Harris. She is the first Asian-American and the first African-American vice president. Such diversity in the cabinet will bring a new life into the spirit of the US that was very much tarnished when Donald Trump was President. Trump isolated the US from the rest of the world because of his inappropriate foreign policies. Moreover, Trump’s administration tainted the very foundations on which the democracy and diplomacy of the US stand.
Biden, on the other hand, is attempting to include representatives from various cultural backgrounds into his cabinet. This will allow him to know about the needs, wants, opinions, and expectations of all Americans residing in the country. Biden’s complete cabinet will be decided in the days to come. Furthermore, time will tell how effective this cabinet is once it completes a year in office in 2022.