women and 
people of color, as well as those with 
previous government experience.
Tracking Joe Biden’s Cabinet Nominees
President-elect Joe Biden rounded out his cabinet nominees by announcing Isabel Guzman, director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, to lead the Small Business Association.
Earlier Thursday Biden announced he’d picked Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to serve as his secretary of Commerce and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead the Department of Labor.
Biden named people to 23 cabinet and cabinet-level positions. The president’s cabinet includes the vice president, the attorney general and the leaders of the 15 executive departments: Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
There are also seven cabinet-level positions: White House Chief of Staff, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Office of Management and Budget director, United States Trade Representative, United States ambassador to the United Nations, Council of Economic Advisers chairman, and Small Business Administration administrator.
Biden’s Nominees
Kamala Harris
Vice President
Previous position:
U.S. Senator from California
Antony Blinken
Secretary of State
Deputy Secretary of State under Obama
Janet Yellen
Treasury Secretary
Chair of the Federal Reserve
Lloyd Austin
Defense Secretary
Four-star Army General and Commander of United States Central Command
Merrick Garland
Attorney General
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Deb Haaland
Interior Secretary
U.S. Representative for New Mexico’s 1st congressional district
Tom Vilsack
Agriculture Secretary
Agriculture Secretary under Obama
Gina Raimondo
Commerce Secretary
Current Governor of Rhode Island
Marty Walsh
Labor Secretary
Current Mayor of Boston
Xavier Becerra
Health and Human Services Secretary
California Attorney General
Marcia Fudge
Housing and Urban Development Secretary
U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 11th congressional district
Pete Buttigieg
Transportation Secretary
Mayor of South Bend, Indiana
Jennifer Granholm
Energy Secretary
Governor of Michigan
Miguel Cardona
Education Secretary
Connecticut Commissioner of Education
Denis McDonough
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
White House Chief of Staff under Obama
Alejandro Mayorkas
Homeland Security Secretary
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security under Obama
Ron Klain
Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff to Vice President Joe Biden
Michael Regan
EPA Administrator
Secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality
Neera Tanden
Office of Management & Budget Director
Senior adviser for health reform at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Obama
Katherine Tai
U.S. Trade Representative
Chief trade counsel on the House Ways and Means Committee
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.N. Ambassador
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Cecilia Rouse
Council of Economic Advisers Chair
Member of the Council of Economic Advisers under Obama
Isabel Guzman
Small Business Administration
Director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate
The Road to Confirmation
Government experience
Male
Person of color
Female
Election Day
▼
Inauguration
▼
2021
Jan
Nov
Dec
Secretary of State
Nominated Nov. 23 ▶
Treasury Secretary
Defense Secretary
Attorney General
Interior Secretary
Agriculture Secretary
Commerce Secretary
Labor Secretary
HHS Secretary
HUD Secretary
Transportation Secretary
Energy Secretary
Education Secretary
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security Secretary
EPA Administrator
Office of Mgmt. & Budget Director
U.S. Trade Representative
U.N. Ambassador
Council of Economic Advisers Chair
Small Business Administration
Government experience
Male
Person of color
Female
Election Day
▼
Inauguration
▼
2021
Jan
Nov
Dec
Secretary of State
Treasury Secretary
Defense Secretary
Attorney General
Interior Secretary
Agriculture Secretary
Commerce Secretary
Labor Secretary
HHS Secretary
HUD Secretary
Transportation Secretary
Energy Secretary
Education Secretary
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security Secretary
EPA Administrator
Office of Mgmt. & Budget Director
U.S. Trade Representative
U.N. Ambassador
Council of Economic Advisers Chair
Small Business Administration
Male
Female
Person of color
Government experience
Election Day
▼
Inauguration
▼
2021
Jan
Nov
Dec
Secretary of State
Treasury Secretary
Defense Secretary
Attorney General
Interior Secretary
Agriculture Secretary
Commerce Secretary
Labor Secretary
HHS Secretary
HUD Secretary
Transportation Secretary
Energy Secretary
Education Secretary
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Homeland Security Secretary
EPA Administrator
Office of Mgmt. & Budget Director
U.S. Trade Representative
U.N. Ambassador
Council of Economic Advisers Chair
Small Business Administration
▲
Election Day
▲
Inauguration
From the start of his campaign, Biden has pledged to ensure his cabinet will look like America in terms of background and ideology. President Barack Obama’s first cabinet included 15 people of color and women. Before the end of the primary Biden had pledged to nominate a woman to serve as his vice president and said he would nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court should a position open up.
Women and people of color are considered top contenders for the departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, and the EPA.
The Makeup of Biden’s Cabinet
Nominated cabinet position
Empty cabinet position
Women
Previous government
experience
People of color
Biden
11
13
23
Trump
4
4
13
Obama
8
10
18
Nominated cabinet position
Empty cabinet position
Women
Previous govt.
experience
People of color
Biden
11
13
23
Trump
4
4
13
Obama
8
10
18
Nominated or
Empty cabinet position
Women
Biden
11
Trump
4
Obama
8
People of color
Biden
13
Trump
4
Obama
10
Previous government experience
23
Biden
13
Trump
Obama
18
The Senate will begin taking up confirmation of Biden’s nominees after his inauguration in January.