The former Democratic vice president has moved quickly to build his team and make decisions for his cabinet after defeating the Republican president in the Nov.3 election. Trump has waged a legal battle to try to overturn the results, falsely claiming that his election was stolen.
“The election is over. It is time to put aside partisanship and rhetoric designed to demonize one another. We have to unite,” Biden said on Twitter Tuesday.
The election is over, it’s time to put aside the partisanship and rhetoric designed to demonize each other. We have to unite.
– Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) 1606231200000
Trump has said he will never grant the election, but after weeks of limbo, his administration on Monday finally gave the green light for the formal transfer of power to Biden to begin. The Trump administration had delayed the process, even though Biden emerged as the clear winner and world leaders recognized him as the next president.
Monday’s announcement meant that Biden will now have access to government funds and will receive intelligence reports as he prepares to take office on January 20. One of the first departments his team reached out to was the Pentagon, underscoring the importance of emphasizing national security during the transition. Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on November 9.
“In the coming days, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the response to the pandemic, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain a full understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to empty agencies. governments, “said Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the transition team, said in a statement.
Until now, the transition team had limited itself to speaking with former officials rather than those currently in government, according to a Biden transition aide.
Critics have said that Trump’s refusal to accept the results and approve the transition of power to Biden undermined American democracy and undermined the incoming administration’s ability to combat the growing coronavirus pandemic that has killed an estimated 258,000 Americans and left millions more out of work.
In a small but symbolic move hours after the transition announcement Monday night, Biden opened a “.gov” website available only to government agencies for their transition, launching buildbackbetter.gov.
NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY
Biden and vice president elect Kamala harris they are due to formally present their foreign policy and national security teams Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware. On Monday, Biden’s team said it had chosen Antony Blinken as US Secretary of State, Jake Sullivan as National Security Advisor, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as US Ambassador to the United Nations and Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of national security.
Biden’s foreign policy is likely to focus on repairing Washington’s relationships with key US allies in Europe and around the world and taking new paths on issues like climate change. He has vowed to rejoin a nuclear deal with Iran if Tehran restores compliance, returns to the Paris climate accord, reverses plans to leave the World Health Organization, and ends a US rule that bans funding. government advocacy groups discussing abortion.
Attention is also being drawn to the possible election of Biden to become Treasury secretary, whose first task will be to guide the government’s response to the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Biden is likely to pick former Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen to become the next Treasury secretary, two of Biden’s allies said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Yellen, who would be the first woman to fill the position, is a seasoned economist and labor market expert respected by Congress and Wall Street. His appointment would steer the department away from the tax cuts and easing of financial regulations that were the primary focus under the Trump administration.
“While Dr. Yellen and I had a fair amount of disagreement during her tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve, I have no doubts about her integrity or technical expertise,” Republican Sen. Pat Toomey said in a statement.
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