At the end of January, the U.S. Senate began confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden’s slate of Cabinet and Cabinet-level appointments. With a slim Democrat majority in the U.S. Senate, President Biden has significant power to staff the agencies of the executive branch as he sees fit. In turn, the cabinet-level appointees will be essential in helping the Biden administration deliver on their ambitious policy agenda.
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden took office with zero of his 15 top Cabinet members confirmed by the U.S. Senate. This is fairly unusual. In comparison, former President Donald Trump took office in 2017 with two Cabinet members already confirmed, and former President Barack Obama had six confirmed Cabinet members on his Inauguration Day in 2009. As of this writing at press time, four Cabinet members had been confirmed: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of Defense General Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
President Biden’s choices for Cabinet positions and other senior-level appointments signal his commitment to many policy goals counter to the previous administration — particularly for the environment and climate change. For the first time, there will be a “Presidential Climate Envoy” position as part of the National Security Council. John Kerry, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state under President Obama, has been tapped to fill this role. Kerry is a longtime advocate for the climate, and was essential in negotiating the Paris climate agreement, which President Biden recommitted to on the first day of his presidency.
Among other notable appointments is Gina McCarthy, who has been chosen as the National Climate Advisor. McCarthy previously served as the director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Obama administration. Working with McCarthy as deputy national climate advisor will be Ali Zaidi, a top climate advisor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and former Obama administration employee on climate and energy policy. Together, Kerry, McCarthy and Zaidi will coordinate President Biden’s foreign and domestic climate policy and work toward the administration’s goal of U.S. carbon neutrality by 2050.
In addition to appointments for presidential advisors, the administration has also begun staffing key agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation, with climate-minded appointees. Steve Cliff, the current deputy executive officer at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), has been tapped to run the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Under the Trump administration, NHTSA found itself in direct opposition with Cliff and CARB over attempted rollbacks of federal clean car standards. Now, Steve Cliff will head up the agency he spent the last four years at odds with.
On the campaign trail and in his first days as president, President Biden has laid the groundwork to link his goals for environmental reform with the administration’s economic recovery plan. President Biden has chosen Brian Deese as his top economic advisor and director of the National Economic Council (NEC). During the Obama administration, Deese served as a deputy director of the NEC, where he played a key role in negotiating the Paris climate accords as well as coordinated the bailout of the auto industry during the 2009 economic crisis. Deese will be essential in coordinating the administration’s response to the COVID-19 recession and intertwining environmental goals with economic stimulus.
The administration is expected to release a sweeping economic recovery plan that will incorporate renewable energy and clean job initiatives as soon as next month. Many political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation have already started their work in the various government agencies, and confirmation hearings for other nominees are ongoing in the Senate. Whether or not the president can deliver on his ambitious goals to combat climate change remains to be seen. However, it is clear that President Biden and his administration have chosen their team carefully to reflect the importance of environmental reform in each sector of the executive branch.