By Soleil Doering ’24 & Rehat Thussu ’23
Staff Writers
The U.S. presidential transition between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden may have lasting political implications. Biden’s victory and Trump’s refusal to concede has led to an especially volatile transfer of power.
Election results have been contested before, such as in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, but according to Assistant Professor of Politics Adam Hilton, the 2020 election brings new sentiments.
“What’s really unique about this transition is unlike in [the election of] 2000 when both sides agreed on the contested facts and recognized there was a problem. … This time it’s really just been one side that continues to insist that this isn’t over,” Hilton said. “The formal, very technical and bureaucratic measures that have to be taken by the new president’s team to ensure a continuity of administration were being resisted,” he continued.
Biden’s transition team has the responsibility of selecting an incoming administration before January’s inauguration. “The few months of the transition are when the new president really has to get the essentials in place,” Hilton explained.
According to NBC, on Nov. 23, Trump finally gave clearance to the General Services Administration to allow Biden’s transition team access to federal resources. In a statement, one of Biden’s longtime transition advisers, Yohannes Abraham, claimed that the accessing of these resources was “a needed step to begin tackling the challenges facing our nation, including getting the pandemic under control and our economy back on track.” Although Trump’s actions do not serve as a full concession, they have allowed the Biden team to formally begin the transition process.
Biden has already named several people to his administration’s top roles. Antony Blinken will serve as the next secretary of state, according to The New York Times. POLITICO reported that Biden chose Jake Sullivan, a former Obama administration official, as national security adviser. Former Deputy Director of the CIA Avril Haines will serve as the director of national intelligence, making her the first woman to hold this position. John Kerry, former U.S. secretary of state, will serve in a new position as Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate or “climate czar,” an unofficial term used for senior officials who have authority over energy or climate policies. The term has not been used on a federal level since 2011.
As mentioned in an article by The Independent, Janet Yellen, the former Federal Reserve chairwoman, will be the first woman to lead the Department of the Treasury, and Wally Adeyemo will become the first Black person to serve as deputy treasury secretary if confirmed. The article also mentioned that Cecilia Rouse, the current candidate in mind to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, would be the first Black person to hold that position. Biden’s pick for budget chief, Neera Tanden, would be the first woman of color and Indian American to serve as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, according to ThePrint. On Dec. 8, Biden chose Democratic Representative Marcia Fudge of Ohio as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Obama-era Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to return to that role.
“While several positions have yet to be filled, Biden’s Cabinet is shaping up to be a diverse team of highly competent leaders who are committed to tackling the various crises of our present moment,” Kate Murray ’22, a co-founder and coordinator of MHC Votes!, said. “From what I’ve seen so far, it seems as though Biden is invested in putting together a Cabinet that is more representative of the American population as well as dedicated to enacting reforms that will repair the nation.”