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Biden confirms Merrick Garland as pick for attorney general
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday introduced Merrick Garland -- a centrist judge who Republicans denied a seat on the Supreme Court five years ago -- as his pick for US attorney general. The 68-year-old Garland, a judge on the Washington federal appeals court, has a record as a moderate liberal but is not aligned with either political party. If confirmed by the US Senate, Garland will helm a Justice Department that must decide whether to investigate President Donald Trump and his associates for various actions over the past four years. Senate Republicans...
AFP
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Biden taps Haaland as first Native American to run Interior
Washington (AFP) - US President-elect Joe Biden unveiled his environment team Thursday, choosing congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary and Jennifer Granholm, a former Michigan governor, as energy secretary. He also nominated Michael Regan, a North Carolina environmental regulator who is Black and brokered the nation's largest coal ash cleanup, to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The choices fit with Biden's much-publicized pledge to form the most diverse White House cabinet in history. "This brilliant, tested, trailblazing te...
AFP
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Biden taps Haaland as first Native American to run Interior: US media
Washington (AFP) - US President-elect Joe Biden has chosen congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American interior secretary, US media reported Thursday, in a move that could recast the department's often troubled ties with indigenous tribes. Haaland is a first-term Democrat from New Mexico in the US Congress and a member of the Laguna Pueblo people. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first Native American to lead a cabinet-level department. The choice fits with Biden's much-publicized pledge to form the most diverse White House cabinet in history. The Interior D...
AFP
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Biden names Pete Buttigieg to 'cabinet of firsts'
Wilmington (United States) (AFP) - Joe Biden boasted of a "cabinet of barrier breakers" Wednesday as the US 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 US cabinet ever. "A cabinet that looks like America" is how Biden, 78, described the inner circle that he is putting together. "W...
AFP
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Transportation post would cap meteoric rise for Buttigieg
Washington (AFP) - Pete Buttigieg's nomination to be transportation secretary caps a meteoric rise for the former small town Indiana mayor and could make him the first openly gay Senate-confirmed member of a US presidential cabinet. President-elect Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday he would nominate Buttigieg, who challenged the former vice president for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to head the mammoth Department of Transportation. Buttigieg, 38, is the first Democratic primary campaign rival selected by Biden for his cabinet. The 78-year-old Biden chose another primary opponent, Cal...
AFP
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Transportation post would cap meteoric rise for Buttigieg
Washington (AFP) - Pete Buttigieg's nomination to be transportation secretary would cap a meteoric rise for the former small town Indiana mayor and make him the first openly gay Senate-confirmed member of a US presidential cabinet. US media reported Tuesday that President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Buttigieg, who challenged the former vice president for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to head the mammoth Department of Transportation. Buttigieg, 38, would be the first Democratic primary campaign rival selected by Biden for his cabinet. The 78-year-old Biden chose another pri...
AFP
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The Biden cabinet: seasoned centrists, but with a few firsts
Washington (AFP) - In his first cabinet appointments, President-elect Joe Biden is signaling that he favors competence and centrism and is not out to please his Democratic Party's left-wing base, although he achieved historic firsts for women and minorities.Here are a few takeaways from Biden's unveiling of his national security team:Veterans of ObamaLike Biden himself, many of his cabinet members served in number two roles in the 2009-2017 administration of Barack Obama.Antony Blinken, named to be the next secretary of state, was deputy secretary of state, while Alejandro Mayorkas was tapped ...
AFP
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John Kerry, who signed Paris accord for US, is Biden's climate envoy
Washington (AFP) - Former secretary of state John Kerry helped broker the landmark Paris Agreement and signed it on behalf of the United States, a decision subsequently reversed by President Donald Trump.Now, he is set to be President-elect Joe Biden's climate envoy, in a clear sign of the upcoming administration's renewed commitment to fighting climate change."I'm returning to government to get America back on track to address the biggest challenge of this generation and those that will follow," Kerry tweeted shortly after his appointment. "The climate crisis demands nothing less than all han...
AFP
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Biden taps Blinken for top diplomat, Kerry as climate envoy
Washington (AFP) - US President-elect Joe Biden announced on Monday key figures for his cabinet, picking longtime foreign policy advisor Antony Blinken to be his secretary of state and former US chief diplomat John Kerry as his special climate envoy.Biden also nominated the first Latino ever, Cuba-born lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas, to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration.He picked Avril Haines, the former deputy CIA director, as his director of national intelligence, the first woman to ever hold that position.Biden also said that long-time diplomat Linda Thomas-Gre...
AFP
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Diverse team likely as Biden mulls his cabinet
Washington (AFP) - President-elect Joe Biden has promised a cabinet that reflects America's diversity, and he is choosing his team even though Donald Trump is refusing to concede or cooperate.Dozens of names are being floated for the most important positions in the executive branch, and the vetting of potential cabinet members has been going on or months."I said from the outset I wanted a campaign that represented America, and I think we did that," Biden, whose incoming vice president Kamala Harris is a Black and Asian-American woman, said in his victory speech four days after the November 3 e...
AFP