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Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, leaders of the left wing of the Democratic Party, risk being excluded from the top positions of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration as the incoming president balances the demands of his party’s progressive base with the demands of his party. political realities of a narrow country. Senate divided
Liberal New England senators remain interested in serving on Biden’s cabinet, but even some of his allies acknowledge that they face significant political obstacles to getting there. Feeling disappointed, progressive leaders have reluctantly begun to voice support for less controversial alternatives.
Warren, whose political career has been defined by efforts to diminish the power of the big banks, is the progressive movement’s first choice for Secretary of the Treasury. Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, reiterated on Thursday his desire to serve as Biden’s Secretary of Labor, describing himself as particularly apt to “focus on the many crises facing working families in this country. “.
Whether he’s included in Biden’s cabinet or not, Sanders warned Biden not to freeze progressives while shaping his government.
“It seems pretty clear to me that progressive views must be expressed within the Biden administration,” Sanders told The Associated Press. “It would, for example, be hugely insulting if Biden were to form a ‘team of rivals,’ and there is some discussion that this is what he intends to do, that he could include Republicans and conservative Democrats, but ignore the progressive community. I think it would be very, very unfortunate. “
Scrutiny of Biden’s personnel decisions reflects the tremendous pressure the president-elect faces as he improvises a senior team to execute his political priorities from the various factions of his party. He will almost certainly face criticism no matter who he chooses for the most powerful positions, but perhaps fewer can afford to lose the support of his progressive vocal base.
In a nod to the left wing, Biden’s transition team hired Analilia Mejía, a Sanders adviser who served as political director for his presidential campaign, to work on progressive outreach. However, mid-level hires during the transition are unlikely to be enough to satisfy progressives.
Biden told reporters Thursday that he had finalized his election for Treasury secretary and said the election would be “someone who will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party, moderate and progressive.” He sidestepped a specific question about adding Sanders to his cabinet when he left the stage.
Likely facing a divided Congress that could roll back the vast majority of his agenda, Biden is considering a series of executive actions to be implemented by his Cabinet that would force significant changes in healthcare, banking, environmental regulation, immigration and foreign policy. among other important issues.
Biden’s transition team declined to comment publicly on Sanders or Warren.
And while progressives have not given up hope that one or both could still be nominated, they recognized the possibility, even the probability, that high-profile liberal senators remain in the Senate.
“It’s safe to say that Elizabeth Warren has definitely earned Joe Biden’s trust and ear, and is sure to have an influential role in setting the agenda going forward, whether it’s a very powerful senator or a more formal role in your administration, “he said. Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, one of Warren’s most vocal supporters in Washington. “Whatever happens, she will be powerful when it comes to setting the agenda for the Democratic Party.”
Waleed Shahid, a spokesman for the Sanders-aligned Justice Democrats, said his group and others recognize that “not all members of the administration are going to be progressive, that’s not what Joe Biden is.” He said progressives simply want “proper representation” “In the closet.
“We advocate for them to be included, but we also have backup options,” he said of Warren and Sanders.
In fact, liberal groups have sought to join with lesser-known progressive leaders like Michigan Rep. Andy Levin for Secretary of Labor and former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to head the Treasury Department.
Like their party establishment leaders, progressives understand the political challenge Democrats would face if Sanders or Warren left the Senate. In both cases, Republican governors would have the ability to nominate their replacements, at least in the short term.
Sanders noted that Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has promised to fill a potential vacancy with an independent group joining the Democrats, as does Sanders.
“Governor Scott is a moderate Republican. He’s not a right-wing Republican, ”Sanders said. “He understands that this is a progressive state and the wisest and most appropriate thing to do would be, as an interim appointment before the special elections were held, to appoint someone whose views were consistent with mine.”
In a best-case scenario for Democrats, the Senate would be split 50-50 in January when the new Congress takes office, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in position to break the tie. But that’s only if Democrats win both Georgia’s special elections on January 5.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has great influence over Biden’s cabinet nominees, regardless of which party is in control.
The top Senate Republican has yet to give a hint on how he will navigate the confirmation process, preferring to wait for Trump to accept the election results and for the Georgia Senate elections to unfold. But Senate Democrats hope McConnel will impose a full-scale lockdown on cabinet elections he doesn’t like.
Biden will be the first Democratic president in modern times to attempt to establish a first-term administration without his party controlling the Senate, a rare dynamic that will unfold before a bitterly divided nation and a hyperpartisan Senate.
The most controversial potential nominees, Warren and Sanders among them, would likely struggle to win confirmation. Some are already running into partisan opposition.
Previewing the intense battles ahead, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz has been producing a series of campaign-style videos opposing both Warren and Sanders.
However, there is also evidence of resistance from Biden’s own coalition, which includes moderate Democrats, independents, and even some Republicans.
“Choosing Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders, who represent the far left and, in Bernie’s case, an overtly socialist view of the world, is not the leadership that the American people have just voted for,” said Jennifer Horn, co-founder from the anti-Trump Lincoln Project that spent millions to support Biden’s presidential candidacy. “I think Joe Biden gets it.”
AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Chris Rugaber in Washington contributed.
