Joe Biden picks members of his cabinet: Who are they and why they matter

The names on the list included foreign policy and national security experts, mostly Washington insiders and experience holders.

US President-elect Joe Biden nominated members of his cabinet on Monday. The names on the list were not unexpected and included foreign policy and national security experts, mostly Washington insiders and experience holders.

US President-elect Joe Biden listens as he holds a videoconference meeting with members of the US conference of mayors at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, US. (Reuters)

The new appointees also reflect Biden campaign’s promise to build an administration that reflects the nation’s diversity as the list includes Mayrokas who will be the first Latino to head the department of homeland security and Avril Haines who will the first woman to become the director of national intelligence.

Here are the prominent names that found a place in Biden’s cabinet:

Anthony Blinken: Secretary of State

Blinken who has been named as Secretary of State has been a long-time Biden confidant and has served as No 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in President Barack Obama’s administration.

Jake Sullivan: National Security Adviser

Sullivan has also served as President Barack Obama’s national security adviser and as deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Alejandro Mayorkas: Homeland Security

Mayorkas, a Cuban born lawyer will be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the department of homeland security. He has been the head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama and helped in the implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for so-called Dreamers.

Avril Haines: Director of National Intelligence

Deputy national security adviser under Obama, and previously the first woman to serve as CIA deputy director, Haines is Biden’s nominee for director of national intelligence.

Linda Thomas Greenfield: Ambassador to the United Nations

As Biden plans to restore the position to a cabinet level, Thomas Greenfield has been picked as the next US ambassador to the UN. She has also served as Obama’s top diplomat on Africa from 2013 to 2017, leading US policy in sub-Saharan Africa during the West African Ebola outbreak.

John Kerry: Special presidential envoy for climate

Former US Senator and Secretary of State Kerry who helped Obama negotiate the Paris climate deal that Biden wants to re-join, will act as “climate czar” in the Biden Administration.

Ron Klain: Chief of Staff

A longtime Biden adviser with experience in responding to the Ebola pandemic, Klain has been picked for the chief of staff role, thereby setting the pandemic as Biden’s topmost priority.

Biden is expected to fill more Cabinet positions and White House posts in coming days. Members of the Cabinet of the United States are nominated by the president and are then confirmed or rejected by the Senate.

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