Biden makes history with diverse Cabinet appointments

President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security. WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden moved Monday to make good his vow to appoint a historically diverse Cabinet, saying he will nominate the first Latino to run the Department of Homeland Security and the first woman to lead the nation’s vast intelligence apparatus.

Biden is also reportedly poised to nominate former chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellen as the first woman to ever run the U.S. Treasury. A respected figure with progressives and Wall Street alike, Yellen would help lead Biden’s response to the economy-wrecking pandemic if she is confirmed by the Senate.

The nominees signal a wide-ranging White House national security and foreign policy leadership team. Unlike many in President Trump’s ever-shifting Cabinet, Biden chose known advisors with long records of public service and expertise. Biden chiefly tapped trusted confidants and establishment figures for his inner circle, packing his Cabinet with former senior Obama administration officials with whom he had worked closely.

Absent from Biden’s initial round of Cabinet picks are any partisan warriors. The list is defined by deliberately nonpartisan and noncontroversial insiders who reinforce the president-elect’s inclination to project competence and unity […]

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