(Republished because I forgot to include Kamala Harris in poll.)
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden famously promised at the last debate to pick a woman as a running mate. (Vote in the poll for your favorite pick.) But there’s a lot more in play than the vice presidency. Who Biden picks for key cabinet positions will have an incredible impact on the future of our country and the eventual success of his administration.
Aside from who we think Biden would pick (we can get pretty cynical about that), who do we want him to pick?
Vice President: I’ve written about why Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar would not be the right choice, and why Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren would be a good one. But my pick is still a Black woman: Stacey Abrams, California Sen. Kamala Harris, or even Susan Rice (UN ambassador and national security adviser for Barack Obama).
The knock on Abrams is experience—her highest elected position was minority leader of the Georgia State House. But she is electrifying, and as I’ve said repeatedly, the number one job of the VP nominee is to help get the ticket elected. Given the importance of Milwaukee, Detroit, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Atlanta, and the Raleigh-Durham area, having someone who can directly relate to those communities would be incredibly helpful. Harris didn’t impress in her presidential run, but this is a different role—that of supporting the nominee. She wouldn’t need to find her voice to be effective.
The counter argument is that Biden already does well with black voters. (Exceedingly well, actually.) He could use his VP to shore up other demographics, like Latinos with someone like Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto or New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. He’s done relatively poorly with Latinos, likely from lingering bitterness at the Obama administration’s aggressive deportation policies. Or he could lock down the left flank of the party (and suburban women) with Elizabeth Warren. Biden couldn’t go wrong with any of these options, including Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who has an unmatched biography.
Secretary of Treasury
If Elizabeth Warren isn’t on the presidential ticket, this is the place for her: directly regulating Wall Street. Would Biden’s Wall Street funders allow this? Probably not. But if she’s not the VP, nothing would signal Biden’s willingness to unite the party more than to signal that he’d put Warren in Treasury. If she’s on the ticket, then how about former Labor Secretary Robert Reich? Bonus: If Warren is promoted out of the Senate, we can all fulfill my greatest fantasy: United States Sen. Ayanna Pressley.
Attorney General
This’ll be controversial: Kamala Harris. That is, unless she’s the VP nominee. She was considered somewhat risk-averse as California’s attorney general, but her Senate history has shown her to be tough and capable. Cortez Masto was Nevada attorney general, but the fewer senators we pull, the better. We don’t need another Scott Brown situation where Republicans won a low-turnout special election in Massachusetts. (Dems never recovered their super majority, screwing Obama’s agenda for the rest of his presidency.) Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson would be dynamite. California attorney general Xavier Becerra would be good.
How about Sally Yates? Obama-era deputy attorney general, fired by Donald Trump for doing her job.
Secretary of State
Susan Rice. My list is short. Maybe Pete Buttigieg gets a look in here? Given his meager experience, he might be a better fit for UN ambassador or maybe a seat on the National Security Council. Dream candidate, no joke? Michelle Obama. We will desperately need to repair our global standing, and no one could do that better. Barack would be okay too, though we might want to save him for the Supreme Court.
Secretary of Defense/Homeland Security/CIA
Democratic presidents have this ridiculous tendency to select Republicans for these high-profile national security positions. They think they’re being bipartisan, but they’re merely reinforcing the notion that only Republicans are capable of “keeping us safe.” Not only is that wrong, but it’s politically dangerous. Remember, Barack Obama’s FBI director was James Comey, a Republican. And it was that asshole who, in large part, cost us the 2016 presidential election by humoring the ridiculous hysteria over Hillary Clinton’s emails.
We have plenty of capable national security experts who will put our country first without us having to worry about whether they’ll use their access and power to kneecap Democrats politically. And the idea that Republicans can keep us safer than Democrats is undercut by the fact that 9/11 and the botched response to the COVID-19 pandemic both happened under Republican regimes. Let’s stop pretending Republicans have any special powers here. Keep it Democratic.
Secretary of Climate Change
There is talk of a new cabinet-level position focused on combating global climate change. It’s long past time to make that happen. Lots of great possibilities here. If we want the ultimate expert, there would be few people better than environmentalist Bill McKibben. If we wanted someone with governing experience, Al Gore or John Kerry would bring gravitas and instant respect to the new position.