On his first day in office, President Joe Biden appointed Charlotte A. Burrows as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—the civil rights agency that enforces federal anti-discrimination laws in the workplace.
Women in Biden-Harris Leadership
A Cabinet That Looks Like America
Like politics in general, U.S. presidential Cabinets have typically been dominated by white men.
But with Kamala Harris and 11 women nominees, seven of them women of color, President Joe Biden’s Cabinet will be, as he promised, “the single-most diverse … that’s ever existed.”
But does a diverse Cabinet matter for the U.S. public? Evidence points to yes.
Biden Appoints Dr. Rachel Levine as Assistant Secretary of Health—a Historic First for Transgender People
President-Elect Joe Biden has nominated Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. If approved, Levine would be the first ever Senate-confirmed trans official in U.S. history.
Levine’s appointment sends a strong message that the administration intends to reverse course on what advocates say has been four years of war against LGBTQ+ people under the Trump administration.
As Commerce Secretary, Gov. Gina Raimondo Has “a Vision for an Inclusive Recovery”
With Inauguration Day fast-approaching, President-Elect Joe Biden took the stage on Friday, Jan. 8 to appoint the final members of his Cabinet. Among them was commerce secretary nominee and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo.
“The mission of the commerce department is a very simple one: to help spur good paying jobs, to empower entrepreneurs to innovate and grow, to come together with working families and American businesses to create new opportunities for all of us. It’s a simple but vital mission. It’s the same mission that’s driven my own life and the path of my family across generations.”
Isabel Guzman Named Small Business Administrator: “American Dreams Fuel Our Economy”
With Inauguration Day fast-approaching, President-Elect Joe Biden took the stage on Friday, Jan. 8 to appoint the final members of his Cabinet. Among them was small business administrator nominee Isabel Guzman.
“Small businesses are critical to our collective success as a nation. … And now more than ever, our small businesses need us.”
Kristen Clarke Makes History as First Woman *and* First Black Woman to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division
Kristen Clarke is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s nominee for assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division.
In accepting her nomination, Clarke vowed to “turn the page on hate and closed the door on discrimination by enforcing our federal civil rights laws,” citing leaders like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley as key influences.
Vanita Gupta Confirmed as Associate Attorney General—The First Woman of Color to Assume the Role
Vanita Gupta is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s associate attorney general nominee. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve as associate attorney general.
Lisa Monaco Nominated as Deputy Attorney General: Promises “Justice Without Fear or Favor”
Lisa Monaco is President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’s deputy attorney general nominee.
“The soul of the Justice Department lives in the integrity of its career professionals, in the independence of its investigations and prosecutions and in the principles it brings to bear as it stewards the ideal of justice in America.”
Biden Picks Merrick Garland and Three Women to Lead Justice Department
President-Elect Joe Biden announced that he would nominate D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland as U.S. Attorney General. Garland, likely to be confirmed with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate, will also likely be flanked by three women who will lead core elements of the Department of Justice.
Jennifer Granholm to Lead Energy Dept: “My Commitment to Clean Energy Was Forged in Fire”
President-Elect Joe Biden selected former Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as the next secretary of energy.
“My commitment to clean energy was forged in the fire,” Granholm said, reflecting on the important role that clean energy played in restoring Michigan’s economy after the 2008 recession.