President-elect Joe Biden continues to fill his Cabinet, which will include at least three Californians, leading the Departments of the Treasury, Energy, and Health and Human Services.
But there remains pressure on Biden to bring even more diversity to his remaining nominations, and some of his nominees could face tough confirmation battles if Republicans still control the Senate.
So far, the president-elect has nominated two UC Berkeley faculty members, Janet Yellen to be Treasury Secretary and Jennifer Granholm to be Energy Secretary. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is Biden’s choice to lead Health and Human Services. But while his lower Cabinet-level department heads include many women and people of color, the higher-ranking secretaries are mostly white, and mostly men.
"This is also a Cabinet rich in political experience, much of it culled in previous Democratic administrations, Obama and Clinton," said Dr. Anna Sampaio, professor of political science and ethnic studies and Chair of the Ethnic Studies Department at Santa Clara University. "These are people for the most part who don’t suffer and fools. They’re coming to the job really well prepared and able to hit the ground running to advance lots of these policy agendas that Biden really wants to see implemented."
On Thursday, multiple outlets reported Biden has chosen Michael Regan, a top North Carolina environmentalist to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
He would be the first Black man to run the EPA.
Retired General Lloyd Austin has been tapped as Secretary of Defense, and would also have the distinction of the first Black man in that role. Pete Buttigieg, whom Biden picked as his transportation chief, would be the first openly gay Cabinet member in history.
Congresswoman Deb Haaland of New Mexico would be the first Native American appointed as a Cabinet secretary if she’s confirmed to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior.
"This is an incredibly diverse Cabinet," Dr. Sampaio told KCBS Radio's "The State Of California" late Thursday. "Looking at it not just in terms of race, but substantive representation. It’s really a groundbreaking Cabinet."
Large roles remain unfilled, but won’t be for long.
The biggest of that group is U.S. Attorney General.
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