The Biden/Harris Administration's Cabinet: Who Do You Want in Which Role and Why?

[LD0506]

2 hours ago, Ball Security said:

She has stated she’s only going to stay in the position for about a year.  She has set the bar high for her replacement.  I’m interested to see what she does next.

 

Her final assignment should be to find a replacement of her caliber, although I won't be surprised if Karine Jean-Pierre takes it.

[Larry]

3 hours ago, LD0506 said:

I'd like to weigh in on Jen Psaki, arguably Biden's best, most visible hire to date. In a short period of time she is approaching near-iconic status for her humor and grace fending off the press, being the media face of the administration and serving as a positive example for us all on how to engage with wit and reserve. It is astounding that the "voice" of this administration is such a cultured, intelligent and gentle one compared to the laughingstock parade of embarrassments we saw previously.

 

I was wondering if that was a job for Mayor Pete, after his multiple Fox News appearances.  But somehow I didn't think he was the only person who could do it.  And I'm not ticked off about where he is.  So I'm cool with the way things are.  

 

[Cooked Crack]

On 1/26/2021 at 3:13 PM, TheGreatBuzz said:

Has anyone seen anything about a nominee for Secretary of the Navy?

 

 

[China]

On 3/22/2021 at 6:55 PM, visionary said:

 

 

 

 

Huge win for progressives as Lina Khan takes helm at FTC

 

President Joe Biden elevated Amazon critic and anti-monopoly advocate Lina Khan to chair the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, hours after the Senate confirmed her by a 69-28 vote.

 

She was sworn in just as quickly, the FTC said that evening.

 

The surprise move gives progressive Democrats both the reins and a majority at the antitrust agency, spurring hopes among critics of Silicon Valley's giants for a new assertiveness from the FTC, which is already pursuing an antitrust probe of Amazon and waging a lawsuit that seeks to break up Facebook's social networking monopoly.

 

Plans for Khan's elevation as chair came to light when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced the news during a Senate Judiciary antitrust hearing Tuesday afternoon, before any announcement from the White House. Khan replaced Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who has served as acting FTC chair since January and remains a member of the commission.

 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) praised President Joe Biden's designation of Khan as chair as "tremendous news."

 

"With Chair Khan at the helm, we have a huge opportunity to make big, structural change by reviving antitrust enforcement and fighting monopolies that threaten our economy, our society, and our democracy," Warren said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Not sure how this is a "surprise move" considering Biden announced his intention to do this back in March as per the above.

[Larry]

21 minutes ago, China said:

"With Chair Khan at the helm, we have a huge opportunity to make big, structural change by reviving antitrust enforcement and fighting monopolies that threaten our economy, our society, and our democracy," Warren said.

 

Just had to emphasize that.  

 

[China]

1 minute ago, Larry said:

 

Just had to emphasize that.  

 

 

Chair Khan seen enforcing antitrust rules at the FTC:

 

[visionary]

 

[The Evil Genius]

Wrong thread.

Edited June 21, 2021 by The Evil Genius

[TheGreatBuzz]

10 minutes ago, The Evil Genius said:

I'm admittedly liberal but also married no kids. I have mixed feelings about this and it makes me question why.

 

 

 

I’m admittedly conservative and married with no kids.  I hate this.

[The Evil Genius]

1 minute ago, TheGreatBuzz said:

I’m admittedly conservative and married with no kids.  I hate this.

 

Yeah, I moved it to another thread. Just an FYI. 😀

[China]

Joe Biden Is Confirming Judges Faster Than Decades Of Past Presidents

 

President Joe Biden quietly hit a milestone on Thursday: With the help of Senate Democrats, he has confirmed more lifetime federal judges than any president has done in more than 50 years by this point in their first six months in office.

 

With the Senate’s latest confirmation of Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, Biden has confirmed a total of seven judges. These are specifically Article III judges, who hold lifetime appointments on federal district courts, appeals courts and on the Supreme Court.

 

It’s still early in Biden’s presidency. A rapid start to confirming judges doesn’t necessarily mean he will surpass the massive number of judges that Trump ultimately confirmed, for example. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) helped Trump confirm more than 230 lifetime federal judges during his four years in the White House.

 

But for the moment, Biden can make the case to Democrats that he is delivering on their calls for urgency in filling court seats with a mix of progressive and diverse lawyers to counter the effect that Trump had on the courts with his wave of conservative picks.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

On 6/17/2021 at 3:34 PM, China said:

 

Huge win for progressives as Lina Khan takes helm at FTC

 

President Joe Biden elevated Amazon critic and anti-monopoly advocate Lina Khan to chair the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, hours after the Senate confirmed her by a 69-28 vote.

 

She was sworn in just as quickly, the FTC said that evening.

 

The surprise move gives progressive Democrats both the reins and a majority at the antitrust agency, spurring hopes among critics of Silicon Valley's giants for a new assertiveness from the FTC, which is already pursuing an antitrust probe of Amazon and waging a lawsuit that seeks to break up Facebook's social networking monopoly.

 

Plans for Khan's elevation as chair came to light when Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) announced the news during a Senate Judiciary antitrust hearing Tuesday afternoon, before any announcement from the White House. Khan replaced Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, who has served as acting FTC chair since January and remains a member of the commission.

 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) praised President Joe Biden's designation of Khan as chair as "tremendous news."

 

"With Chair Khan at the helm, we have a huge opportunity to make big, structural change by reviving antitrust enforcement and fighting monopolies that threaten our economy, our society, and our democracy," Warren said.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Not sure how this is a "surprise move" considering Biden announced his intention to do this back in March as per the above.

 

Amazon wants FTC Chair Lina Khan recused from all its cases

 

Amazon has formally requested that newly appointed Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan be recused from all Amazon (AMZN)-related antitrust cases before the agency.

 

The e-commerce giant filed a petition to the FTC on Wednesday suggesting that Khan -- an outspoken tech critic who has played a key role in driving antitrust scrutiny of the industry and Amazon in particular -- lacks objectivity, according to a copy obtained by CNN Business.

Khan, the petition reads, "has on numerous occasions argued that Amazon is guilty of antitrust violations and should be broken up. These statements convey to any reasonable observer the clear impression that she has already made up her mind about many material facts relevant to Amazon's antitrust culpability as well as about the ultimate issue of culpability itself."

The FTC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Edited July 1, 2021 by China

[China]

Biden’s BLM pick hit with new allegations from former investigator in tree-spiking case

 

A decades-old tree-spiking incident is threatening to bring down President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management.

 

A retired federal investigator involved with the case came forward Wednesday to allege that Tracy Stone-Manning engaged in "vulgar, antagonistic, and extremely anti-government" behavior during the 1989 investigation.

 

Stone-Manning has repeatedly distanced herself from the tree-spiking, which she was connected to indirectly when she was a graduate student involved with the environmental group Earth First. But the political heat surrounding her nomination is likely to grow following a letter sent to the Senate Energy Committee by retired U.S. Forest Service criminal investigator Michael Merkley, who said Stone-Manning knew she was under criminal investigation at the time.

 

“She was aware that she was being investigated in 1989 and again in 1993 when she agreed to the immunity deal with the government to avoid criminal felony prosecution,” Merkley wrote in a letter obtained by the committee and shared with POLITICO.

 

When asked if she had ever been the target of an investigation, arrested or charged with a crime in her official Senate committee questionnaire from earlier this year, Stone-Manning had answered “no.” The designation of target is generally reserved for individuals for whom an investigation finds substantive evidence of their committing a crime.

 

Click on the link for the full story

[Larry]

30 minutes ago, China said:

 

 

“She was aware that she was being investigated in 1989 and again in 1993 when she agreed to the immunity deal with the government to avoid criminal felony prosecution,” Merkley wrote in a letter obtained by the committee and shared with POLITICO.

 

When asked if she had ever been the target of an investigation, arrested or charged with a crime in her official Senate committee questionnaire from earlier this year, Stone-Manning had answered “no.” The designation of target is generally reserved for individuals for whom an investigation finds substantive evidence of their committing a crime.

Meaning, her "no" response may well be correct. 

[China]

Biden to Tap Former Hill Aide for Top Treasury Post Overseeing Financial Rules

 

Graham Steele, a former colleague of Sen. Sherrod Brown, is a proponent of treating climate change as a systemic risk to the financial system.

Mr. Steele, the former Democratic chief counsel on the Senate Banking Committee and an aide to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio), will oversee the Biden administration’s plans to tighten rules on Wall Street firms. This may include higher scrutiny of cryptocurrencies; open-end mutual funds and hedge funds and their role in the market turmoil last year; and the financial sector’s exposure to climate-change risks.

 

Mr Steele is director of the Corporation and Society Initiative at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which seeks to “promote more accountable capitalism and governance,” according to its website. He previously served as an employee at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and also worked at Public Citizen, a progressive watchdog group, before joining Mr. Brown’s staff in 2010.

 

In recent years, he has been a vocal proponent of treating climate change as a systemic risk to the financial system, and called on US regulators to do more to address potential threats, such as more frequent wildfires. Fire or drought that threatens the physical assets of the banks.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Ted Cruz is blocking diplomats from being confirmed, and it has nothing to do with their qualifications

 

An extraordinary effort by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to block nominees from being confirmed to vital jobs in the State Department is creating hurdles for the Biden administration and hindering US diplomacy, according to Democrats and Republicans who spoke to CNN.

 

The Biden administration -- with about 60 State Department nominees waiting to be confirmed -- is encountering greater roadblocks in securing Senate confirmations at State than at any other agency. Administration officials and Democrats point to Republicans, who admit they're playing a role. But sources from all three groups say the bulk of the blame should be placed on Cruz.

The junior senator from Texas has become the public face of the State Department's difficulties, proudly claiming responsibility for blocks on a slew of senior officials. Cruz is trying to pressure the administration on a specific point of Russia policy, a campaign that other Republicans say is fruitless and that triggered a fiery shouting match with Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who's the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Cruz does not appear willing to budge. "I look forward to lifting the holds just as soon as they impose the sanctions on Nord Stream 2 that are required by federal law," he told CNN.

A toxic brew of personality politics, hyperpartisanship and political grandstanding has transformed the often-dull approval process for nominees into a politicized battle, one that is squeezing Democratic leadership in the Senate as it juggles priorities, including President Joe Biden's push for infrastructure legislation, and the tight deadline of a looming summer recess.

 

Six months after Biden's inauguration, just six State Department candidates have been confirmed on the Senate floor. Some 60 nominees have been awaiting confirmation for months. Now Cruz has effectively stopped the Senate from voting on senior department nominees unless Democrats take the time-consuming steps needed to overcome a filibuster for each nomination, leaving around a dozen offices without confirmed leadership.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Thought they got rid of the filibuster for nominations except SCOTUS, years ago.  

[TheGreatBuzz]

Why doesn’t he just call the “acting” and move on?  Hasn’t that precedent been set?

[China]

McConnell urges Biden to withdraw embattled ATF nominee

 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Saturday urged the White House to withdraw President Biden's pick of David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a nomination that has been stuck in limbo for weeks.

 

"The Senate has spent quite enough time flirting with this profoundly misguided nomination. The American people deserve a trustworthy steward leading the ATF. ... It is time the Biden administration revisit this decision and send us somebody who fits that description," McConnell said. 

 

The GOP leader's push comes as Republicans have been deeply critical of Chipman over his ties to the gun control advocacy group Giffords and say that he is too extreme to run a federal agency tasked with enforcing certain gun laws.

 

McConnell, in a floor speech late last month, urged opposition to Chipman's nomination, saying, "There is no way this nominee is the best the Biden administration can do."

 

Democrats could confirm Chipman on their own if all members of their caucus backed his nomination. But so far, several moderates haven't said if they will support Chipman, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Angus King (I-Maine).

 

Democratic leaders have been in conversations with the key undecided votes as they try to figure out the path forward on Chipman's nomination. They've declined to say when they will call up his nomination.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Let me guess. The nominee has expressed the opinion that ATF should actually enforce existing laws?  

[China]

Scoop: Biden to tap privacy hawk for FTC post

 

President Biden will nominate Georgetown University law professor Alvaro Bedoya to be a Democratic commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, people familiar with the matter told Axios.

 

Why it matters: Bedoya, founding director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown, will bring a bevy of experience on privacy issues to the FTC's work on tech.

 

Between the lines: If confirmed, Bedoya will solidify the Democratic majority at the FTC with current commissioner Rohit Chopra set to leave the agency as Biden's nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

I'm so confused.  I thought the GOP liked the Russians now.

 

GOP Revives McCarthyism While Grilling Biden’s Pick For Bank Regulator

 

Senate Republicans suggested on Thursday that a Soviet-trained communist was about to take over a key office in the country’s banking regulation infrastructure.

 

President Biden nominated Cornell University law professor Saule Omarova to be comptroller of the currency in September. But at her Thursday confirmation hearing, Republican senators played on Omarova’s birth in the former Soviet Union to suggest that she was a Marxist sleeper agent.

 

“Have you resigned from the young communists?” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) asked Omarova at the hearing.

 

Kennedy was referring to Omarova’s early years in the USSR. Born in what is now Kazakhstan, Omarova received the prestigious Lenin scholarship to study at Moscow State University. As a child, she was also a member of the komsomol, the communist youth — a common group to be involved in in the USSR.

 

It’s all red meat for opponents of Omarova’s candidacy on the Senate Finance Committee, which held a confirmation hearing on Thursday.

 

“Did you send them a letter resigning?” Kennedy asked, referring to Omarova’s komsomol membership.

 

Committee Chair Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) interrupted him, saying that Omarova had “renounced her Soviet citizenship.”

 

Kennedy pressed on with Omarova: “I don’t mean any disrespect — I don’t know whether to call you professor or comrade.”

 

Omarova is up for an extremely important role. As comptroller of the currency, she’ll be in charge of chartering banks, and supervising them. It’s a job that holds great authority over the country’s largest financial institutions. The office can levy fines and restrict activities of banks if supervisors find particularly egregious deficiencies.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

Wrong thread

Edited November 19, 2021 by Cooked Crack

[China]

FDIC’s GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams on Friday unexpectedly submitted her resignation after the Trump appointee faced partisan strife at the bank regulator, in a move that will give Democrats control of the agency in the coming weeks.

 

Her departure, effective Feb. 4, means that FDIC board member Martin Gruenberg will become acting chair — his third stint atop the 88-year-old independent agency that insures trillions of dollars in deposits at the nation’s banks. It followed an attempt by Gruenberg and other Democrats on the agency’s board to wrest control from McWilliams, whose term was not scheduled to end until June 2023.

 

Earlier this month, the Democratic majority on the FDIC’s board voted to take public feedback on potential changes to the agency’s bank merger approval process. McWilliams did not participate in the vote, and the FDIC in an official statement said the action was not valid. A legal debate ensued over whether a majority of the board can put items up for a vote without the consent of the chair, with Democrats maintaining they had clear authority.

 

At a Dec. 14 board meeting, McWilliams rejected a bid by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra — an FDIC board member and ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) — to add a record of the vote to the FDIC’s official minutes.

 

Her impending exit opens up another key position for Biden to fill, and it means none of the three federal banking agencies will have a Senate-confirmed official serving in their top regulatory job. The president is expected to soon tap a vice chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve, while his pick for comptroller of the currency recently withdrew after facing opposition from moderate Democrats.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Biden nominates Bridget Brink to be Ambassador of Ukraine

 

President Biden announced Monday that he plans to nominate Bridget Brink for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ukraine.

 

Brink currently serves as the U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic. She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, having spent her 25-year career focused on advancing U.S. policy in Europe and Eurasia. She has served roles in the State Department and various U.S. embassies, according to the nomination announcement.

 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Brink is “deeply experienced in the region, who’ll be a very strong representative,” The Hill reported.

 

Ukraine has not had a U.S. Ambassador since 2019, when then-President Trump removed Marie Yovanovitch, The Washington Post reported. Brink will need to be confirmed by the Senate. She was nominated to her current post in 2019 by Trump and confirmed by a voice vote, according to The Hill.

 

Brink holds Master’s degrees in International Relations and Political Theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science. According to her profile page on the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia website, Brink speaks Russian and Serbian, as well as basic Georgian and French.