Although many positions remain to be filled, Biden’s cabinet announcements so far follow a pattern: The former vice president elected people to top positions who did not cause bitter or protracted fighting with the left – without giving the progressives a major victory. Not a single nod of Biden was wildly torn on the left side of the Democratic Party. And the president-elect has also chosen leaders who, despite moderation, have spent time building relationships with the advanced.
“It could have been a lot worse,” said Rebecca Katz, an advanced strategist who advised Jamaal Bowman’s incoming left-wing campaign, adding that things could still change. – He’s not picking left. He only selects people who have not alienated the left who have listened.
However, several progressively elected officials, assistants, and activists offered caution Biden’s praise during the transition period and so far has avoided serious battles. However, it was emphasized that it was at an early stage in the process and could certainly change, especially during the confirmatory hearings. Still, their posture is in Biden’s office to this day, it is outstanding when compared to the nonsensical battle between moderate and left-wing Democrats in Congress that has been raging since election day.
Advanced people said there was also a worse option for many of Biden’s pickers, which they are thankful he didn’t choose. In many cases, they lobbied his team to keep these people away.
For the Treasury, the fear was that it could go along with Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, a former venture capitalist who the unions don’t like because she cut pensions. As Secretary of State, Blinken is favored on the left as the moderate senator, Chris Coons (D-Del.), Who has long been an ally of Biden. His chief of staff was asked to choose a possible election, Ron Klain, who played a role in Biden’s achievement this year, against former lobbyist Steve Ricchetti.
“Progressors are breathing a little relieved because the wing of the party from which Joe Biden hails doesn’t get everything they want here,” said Waleed Shahid, a spokesman for the Justice Democrats who recruited Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. to start the congress. – The meaning of the third way, the conservative wing of the party.
Progressive immigrant advocacy groups such as United We Dream have warmly welcomed the appointment of Alejandro Mayorkas as head of Homeland Security, who, as the first Latin to potentially lead the class, could make a “different voice”.
But “Biden and Mr. Mayorkas were part of a team that unfortunately oversaw millions of deportations,” said Greisa Martinez Rosas, managing director of United We Dream. “And we see it as our responsibility to hold everyone accountable to ensure that this does not happen again.”
There are those who go beyond faint approval. Liberals, who fit the Warren wing of the progressive movement closely, say a lot can be happy about Biden’s early selection.
“The biggest turning point was actually the selection of Ron Klain, which we saw as extremely positive news,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “This has given a broader indication that when there are more options on the table for Biden, and one of them is most acceptable to progressives, he will go in that direction, maintaining peace on earth.”
However, some progressive professionals are criticizing left-wing groups for applauding Biden’s safe choices too much.
– I don’t want to exaggerate. John Kerry is fine. [But] it is quite pathetic this pretense that these milquetoast candidates with mixed records are great progressive heroes. ”Said David Sirota, Sanders’ former speaker. “I think we need advocacy groups, activists and journalists right now to be honest about who these candidates are.”
The power of Biden’s successful navigation to date seems to stem from a determination to nurture political connections and exploit staff with similar qualities. Biden comes out with Sanders and Warren, both of whom have been looking for top positions in the administration. According to climate activists, Kerry worked well with them in political working groups that Biden had formed with Sanders after the pre-election. Similarly, Matt Duss, Sanders ’foreign policy adviser, said Blinken helped the left in its attempt to end the“ significant ”support for the Yemeni war by the United States.
“During the campaign, Tony and his team made a point of contacting progressive groups on a regular basis as part of Biden’s broader efforts to reach the left and unite the party,” Duss said. “Undoubtedly, it helped them win, and the current sequel will help govern.”
Progressors say another reason Biden may have proved to be a generally acceptable choice – not only for them but also for the moderates and even some conservatives – is due to the close division of Congress. Democrats have a small majority in the House and would at best face the same situation in the Senate if the party wins two run-down races in Georgia. This will force Biden to turn to the left, they said.
Liberal Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) says progressives will not swing early when they see a lot of applause. He said the appointees understand the national security implications of climate change. And Yellen, according to Schatz, is “closer to dream cushioning” than people may notice because the candidate “represents a big formal rift” in the idea that “austerity is helping the whole economy”.
Nonetheless, the left “needs to see the full pantheon of candidates before judging whether this team is sufficiently committed to making the necessary changes,” he said. At the same time, Democrats need to be “vigilant” against “closet-mere instinct” when spending money on top priorities, Schatz said. Advanced people push Biden at this point when he appoints, but he warned: if we get upset, pulling hair because of the little things, no one will listen to us about the big things.
That’s not to say Biden didn’t get restraint from the progressives. The Sunrise Movement, a group of young climate change activists, said it seemed “betrayal” when Biden touched Cedric Richmond (D-La) as a senior adviser. Demand Progress left-wing organization Ricchetti, mandated by Biden to be the White House liaison with Congress and corporate leaders, lists him as an “interesting person” on his website, which aims to keep “corporate insiders” away from the administration.
Going further, the biggest focus of the progressives is the exclusion of Democrats who like strict governance from Biden’s team. In recent days, progressive lawmakers and strategists have launched petitions and tweeted their opposition to some carry-overs of the Obama era. For example, they try to keep former centrist Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the “incomplete hawk” Briden Reed away from the Biden White House, especially in cutting-edge locations such as the Secretary of Transportation and the head of the Administration and Budget Office.
Progressors also oppose drone strike defender Mike Morell on behalf of CIA director and BlackRock executive director Brian Deese in the National Economic Council. Jennifer Epps-Addison, president of the Left Center for People’s Democracy, which supported Sanders in the pre-election, said appointing Deese or Reed feels like a bridge that is really far from bringing these different factions together within the party.
Similarly, Schatz said Reed’s appointment was “worth a look,” but he didn’t want to “assume” it, as Reed played a key role in a fiscal reform committee that was progressively ridiculed by former President Barack Obama. closed and that it will work with the Third Way and reduce spending.
In a statement from Biden’s team, Tom Steyer, a former presidential candidate, defended Reed: “He is a climate champion who will fully support Biden’s clean energy plan and anyone who thinks it will bring a budget deficit to the needs of working families. Bruce. “
The Third Way, the center-left think tank from the “Democratic Party’s Joe Biden wing,” said it said “there are no common-sense Democrats” in the midst of several crises in support of spending cuts.
The left is also urging Biden to go with Representative Deb Haaland (DN.M.) in Debrecen, the interior minister of an association in Warren, and watch closely who Biden appoints to the Ministry of Justice. And the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is pushing Biden to lower-level government positions, working with some 40 liberal and non-partisan groups on the list the Institute for Progressive Change has sent to its transition team.
“It’s not as progressive as I’d like, but the good news is that Biden is keeping conservative Democrats hostile to progressives like Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed for now,” Bowman said from Biden’s selection. The cabinet process is just the beginning – these are the people we need to work with, but also the people we push for. “
