Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Ballotpedia's Weekly Transition Tracker - January 8, 2021
January 8, 2020
|
Track new appointments, nominations, and news.  Welcome to Ballotpedia's Weekly Transition TrackerJanuary 8, 2021Prior to taking office on January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden (D) and his team must prepare for the transition between presidential administrations, including selecting senior White House staff and appointees to top government positions. In 2020, there were 1,472 government positions subject to presidential appointment: 1,118 positions required Senate confirmation and 354 did not. The new administration is also responsible for filling thousands of other positions across the federal government, including in operations and policy. Every weekday, Ballotpedia is tracking potential Cabinet nominees, appointments, and news related to the Biden presidential transition. 
Appointments and NominationsWhite HouseOn Tuesday, Biden announced White House staff appointments to the offices of the Cabinet Secretary, Political Strategy and Outreach, Public Engagement, and Management and Administration. None of these positions require Senate confirmation.
Garland was previously nominated by President Barack Obama (D) to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia. Biden announced three other Department of Justice nominations:
Gina Raimondo, secretary of commerceGina Raimondo has served as the governor of Rhode Island since 2015. She was chair of the Democratic Governors Association from 2018 to 2019. She also served as the treasurer of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. Prior to her public service, Raimondo co-founded the first capital venture firm in Rhode Island history, according to the Biden campaign. In Rhode Island, a vacancy in the office of the governor is filled by the lieutenant governor. Daniel McKee (D) holds that position. Marty Walsh, secretary of laborMarty Walsh has served as the mayor of Boston since 2014. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party Labor Caucus, and the co-chair of the Special Commission on Public Construction Reform. Walsh also worked as a union leader, serving as the head of the Laborers’ Union Local 223 and the Building and the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council. Isabel Guzman, small business administratorIsabel Guzman is the director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate within the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. She worked in the Obama administration as a deputy chief of staff and senior advisor in the Small Business Administration. Guzman also worked as an advisor at ProAmérica Bank. Congress Counts Electoral Votes, Declares Biden WinnerCongress convened a joint session on Wednesday to count electoral votes by state and confirm the result of the presidential election. As president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence (R) presided over the proceedings. To object to a state’s count, one member each from the House and Senate had to submit a written objection after the body read the vote count from a particular state or D.C. After time for debate—a maximum of two hours—both chambers voted by a simple majority to concur or reject the objection. Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump (R) went to the Capitol Building as Congress was in its joint session. Around 2:15 p.m. ET, both chambers recessed as the group breached the Capitol and the building went into lockdown. The group trespassed through several security barriers, leading to altercations with police and other security officials. Hundreds reached the interior of the Capitol and vandalized the building. Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were evacuated. Other members of Congress evacuated or sheltered in place. Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer and one woman shot and killed by Capitol Police. After the Capitol was secured, Congress reconvened after 8 p.m. ET to continue with the count. Members submitted objections for six states. Two objections were formally presented by a Senate and House member:
Four states were counted following incomplete objections presented by a U.S. House member without a U.S. senator:
At 3:40 a.m. ET, Pence declared Biden the winner of the presidential election with 306 electoral votes and concluded the joint session. Since the 1887 passage of the Electoral Count Act, there have been two instances of congressional objections. In 1969, an objection was raised against the North Carolina electoral votes, which was rejected 58-33 in the Senate and 228-170 in the House. In 2005, an objection was raised to the Ohio vote. It was rejected 74-1 in the Senate and 267-31 in the House. Potential Nominees
Other News
Transition in ContextBiden made four Cabinet and Cabinet-rank nominations on Thursday, 65 days after the 2020 presidential election. The only remaining position to be announced is director of the CIA. President Donald Trump (R) selected his nominee 10 days after the 2016 presidential election, while President Barack Obama (D)—who did not designate this office as Cabinet-rank—made an announcement 66 days after the 2008 presidential election. How do the Georgia Senate runoff elections affect Biden’s transition? Control of the Senate will ease the confirmation process for some of Biden’s political appointees. Nominees require a simple majority to be confirmed. What We're Reading
|
