Bidens gay cabinet picks
Biden Names America's First Openly Gay Cabinet Member
by Naharnet Newsdesk over 4 years
Joe Biden boasted of a "cabinet of barrier breakers" Wednesday as the U.S. President-elect introduced his transportation secretary pick Pete Buttigieg, who if confirmed would become the first openly gay head of a cabinet-level department.
Buttigieg, whom Biden called "a policy wonk with a big heart," is one of several trailblazing picks by the veteran Democrat who appears to be following through on his pledge to name the most diverse U.S. cabinet ever.
"A cabinet that looks like America" is how Biden, 78, described the inner circle that he is putting together.
"We'll have a cabinet of barrier breakers, a cabinet of firsts," he told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, noting that eight "precedent-busting appointments" were already made.
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is among the historic picks, being the first woman and first person of color elected to the post.
Others include retired general Lloyd Austin, who would be the first Black secretary of defense, and Janet Yellen, the first woman to direct the Treasury Department.
"And today a ninth, the first-ever openly gay nominee to l
President Joe Biden's top-level appointees and Cabinet picks
On the campaign trail, Joe Biden guaranteed his White Property would "look like the country."
As he entered the White House, he took steps towards keeping that promise -- assembling a historically diverse slate of top-level nominees.
Half of the president's Cabinet picks are women and the majority are people of tint. Biden has noted that many of his selections would be pioneers in their roles -- including the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, the first Black defense secretary, the first openly gay man confirmed to a Cabinet role and the first Native American Cabinet secretary.
But before the nominees can break barriers, they have to become through the confirmation process in a closely divided Senate.
Here's a look at Biden's picks for the top posts in his administration:
Department of Justice
Biden nominated Judge Merrick Garland to serve as the nation's next attorney general on Jan. 7.
Garland, 68, serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He had been nominated to the Supreme Court in 2016 by President Barack Obama to fill the vacancy left by Ju
Biden picks Pete Buttigieg for transport secretary - the first openly gay cabinet member
Joe Biden has picked former rival Pete Buttigieg to be his unused transport secretary - which would make him the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ran for the Democratic Party presidential candidate nomination, before suspending his campaign in March and finally endorsing Mr Biden.
In a utterance, Mr Biden's transition team praised him as "a barrier-breaking public servant from the industrial Midwest with a track record of trailblazing, forward-thinking executive leadership".
The president-elect is planning to formally introduce Mr Buttigieg during a Delaware event on Wednesday with his vice president-elect Kamala Harris.
Mr Buttigieg, an ex-US Navy officer, became a formidable political force in the early primary states and finished well ahead of Mr Biden in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Mr Biden later suggested he could be a bridge to a new generation of Democratic leadership, and is now set to include a youthful dynamic to the new US government.
On Tuesday, the Electoral College decisively confirmed Mr Biden as the
Pete Buttigieg becomes first openly gay person confirmed to US Cabinet with Senate approval as transport head
Pete Buttigieg has won US Senate approval as transportation secretary, the first openly gay person to be confirmed to a Cabinet post.
Key points:
- Mr Buttigieg will take a key role in a White Dwelling effort to dramatically ramp up infrastructure spending
- Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed as leader the Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino and immigrant to hold the position
- Joe Biden's choose for attorney-general, Merrick Garland, is still pending Senate confirmation
He will be tasked with advancing President Joe Biden's ambitious agenda of rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and fighting climate change.
Mr Buttigieg was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday (local time) on an 86-13 vote.
Mr Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and military veteran who challenged Mr Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, will oversee aviation, highways, vehicles, pipelines and transit, as well as attempts to ensure sound transportation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He will take a key role in a White House effo
Landmark LGBTQ Appointees to the Biden-Harris Administration
Gender on the Ballot Team | Jan 28, 2021
(Updated as of June 2023)
On the street to building a team that “looks like America,” President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have made diversity a priority, and their administration is on path to becoming the most LGBTQ-inclusive in history.
These LGBTQ appointees to the Biden administration, which includes the first openly LGBTQ person and the first transsexual person to keep a role requiring Senate confirmation, are shattering barriers in their new roles:
Rachel Levine: Assistant Secretary of Health
Levine will be the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate, pending Senate hearing. Levine is an experienced physician who oversaw opioid crisis tries in Pennsylvania and has been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pete Buttigieg: Transportation Secretary
The former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a 2020 Presidential nominee, Buttigieg will be the first out LGBTQ person in US history to maintain a full-time Cabinet post, if confirmed by the Senate.
Carlos Elizondo: