Tag: Biden administration

Avril Haines confirmed as director of national intelligence

Axios logo

Avril Haines was quickly confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in a vote of 84-10. 

Why it matters: Haines is the first of President Biden’s nominees to receive a full Senate confirmation and will be the first woman to serve as DNI. She’s previously served as CIA deputy director from 2013 to 2015 and deputy national security adviser from 2015 to 2017.

FBI screens U.S. troops for possible insider threats ahead of inauguration

Washington Post logo

U.S. defense officials say the federal government is conducting insider-threat screening on the 25,000 National Guard troops who have begun flowing into the nation’s capital to secure the inauguration, as concerns intensify about extremism in the ranks.

The extra precaution comes after a number of pro-Trump rioters involved in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 turned out to have military ties, raising questions about extremist sentiment within the armed forces. Dozens of peopleon a terrorist watch list were in Washington as the deadly riot unfolded.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive preparations, said the Army is working with the FBI to vet all service members supporting the inauguration. The Army maintains awareness of threats but does not collect domestic intelligence itself, the official said. It was not immediately clear how extensive the FBI vetting of the military personnel would be. Continue reading.

Biden pushes for $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package

GOP critics immediately call it too much, too fast

President-elect Joe Biden began lobbying Congress to quickly approve a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid plan to improve vaccine distribution, provide direct payments to Americans and bolster state and local government coffers.

In a televised speech Thursday evening, Biden delivered a message that appeared tailored for Republicans and more fiscally moderate Democrats who are unlikely to cheer the prospect of another costly pandemic relief bill just weeks after lawmakers approved a $902 billion package.

The former Delaware Democratic senator argued that lawmakers not only have an “economic imperative to act now” but a “moral obligation” to help the nation weather a pandemic that has killed more than 385,000 Americans. Continue reading.

On its way out the door, Trump administration names Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism

Washington Post logo

The Trump administration added Cuba to a list of state sponsors of terrorism Monday, reversing a signature policy move of the Obama administration and potentially hampering President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to quickly broker a rapprochement with Havana.

“With this action, we will once again hold Cuba’s government accountable and send a clear message: the Castro regime must end its support for international terrorism and subversion of U.S. justice,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

A U.S. economic embargo of Cuba already curbs Americans’ ability to do business with or visit the communist island. But the new terrorism label could hinder commercial deals with third countries Cuba relies on to import essential goods and turn off foreign investors in its all-important tourism industry. Continue reading.

Biden’s NSC to focus on global health, climate, cyber and human rights, as well as China and Russia

Washington Post logo

The incoming Biden administration plans to restructure and expand the operations of the White House National Security Council, establishing new senior positions on global health, democracy and human rights, and cyber and emerging technology, signaling a sweeping shift in priorities, according to a senior adviser to the Biden transition.

Russia, which the Trump administration had subsumed into the NSC directorate for European affairs, will again be given its own NSC senior director, the adviser said, speaking on the condition of anonymity before the plans and positions were announced Friday.

“We expect to be taking a stronger position on China than has been the case in past Democratic administrations,” with significant new staff positions to handle “a much more assertive China abroad and a much more repressive China” at home, the adviser said. Continue reading.

Thousands of guardsmen to stay in D.C. through Biden inauguration

The full force will arrive in Washington by Sunday

Thousands of National Guard troops will be deployed to Washington, D.C., for the next 30 days, through the coming inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, following a riot at the Capitol Wednesday that left four dead and dozens injured. 

Some 6,200 Guard troops from units in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey will be deployed to secure the Capitol. The full force will arrive in Washington by Sunday. 

The deployment follows Wednesday’s rioting by a pro-Trump mob that breached the Capitol and stormed the building, forcing lawmakers, staff and journalists to take cover and prompting the evacuation of congressional leaders and Vice President Mike Pence.  Continue reading.

Biden set to select top North Carolina environmental official to lead EPA

The Hill logo

President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday selected Michael Regan to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), picking a longtime EPA insider to lead the agency.

Regan, 44, is currently the secretary for North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the state’s EPA equivalent. He would be the first Black man to hold the role of EPA chief.

He previously worked for the EPA under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations before heading to the Environmental Defense Fund as its southeast regional director. Continue reading.

Biden picks Vilsack for agriculture secretary and Rep. Fudge for HUD

Washington Post logo

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday pledged to “change the course” of the coronavirus pandemic as he introduced key members of his health team at an event in Wilmington, Del. As he continues to build his administration, Biden has said he will announce his nominations for two other marquee jobs — including attorney general — by the end of the week. Meanwhile, according to people familiar with the transition plans, Biden is expected to name former agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack for the position again, and pick Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

President Trump, who continues to insist he won the election, appeared at a White House “vaccine summit” to tout his administration’s efforts to combat the pandemic. He also expressed hope that he would have a second term. Continue reading.

Dozens Of Trump’s Political Hacks Will Remain In Office After Biden Takes Over

Christopher Prandoni was just 29 when he joined President Donald Trump’s administration as associate director for natural resources at the Council on Environmental Quality. Last year, he hopped over to the Interior Department and became a close adviser to Secretary David Bernhardt, sometimes attending multiple meetings a day with the agency head.

In April, Bernhardt named Prandoni, only three years out of law school, to a $114,000-a-year position that’s part of the career civil service. His appointment as a judge in the Interior Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, which arbitrates land-use disputes, drew sharp criticism from environmental groups concerned that Prandoni would infuse ideology into decisions and undermine the panel’s integrity.

“The job that Prandoni was given was a gift; it was payment for time served,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “He never in a thousand years would have gotten this job if he hadn’t worked directly with David Bernhardt for months at a time implementing the Trump agenda.” Continue reading.

A Focus on Workers, Not Wall Street

The president-elect’s economic team is filled with people who are familiar with the issues of unemployment and economic inequality.

IN RECOUNTING HER childhood, Neera Tanden likes to cite the role the government played in keeping her and her mother on track following the divorce of her parents at the age of 5. 

“My father left for a time, and my mother had to be on welfare,” Tanden said during an address to the 2016 Democratic convention in Philadelphia. “She worked hard to support me and my brother. We used lunch vouchers at school and food stamps at the supermarket.”

“It wasn’t easy, but we eventually got back on our feet because of the investment Democrats have made in struggling families like mine,” she told delegates and party leaders in attendance. Continue reading.