Joe Biden’s cabinet: These are the people who will run America

Joe Biden has revealed his picks for key roles in the US government as the economy is ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President-elect Joe Biden has chosen the people who will effectively help him run the country when he takes over power.

Mr Biden, who served as vice president under former president Barack Obama and defeated President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, has been moving quickly to fill key slots in his incoming cabinet.

Top of the list was former State Department number two Antony Blinken, tapped for secretary of state.

Mr Biden also named the first female head of intelligence, the first Latino chief of Homeland Security, the first woman as treasury secretary, and a heavyweight pointman on climate issues – Obama-era top diplomat John Kerry.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Janet Yellen, Avril Haines, Alejandro Mayorkas, Antony Blinken and John Kerry have been selected by Joe Biden to fill key positions in the US government. Picture: AFP

Mr Biden named the first woman, Avril Haines, as director of national intelligence, and Cuban-born Alejandro Mayorkas to head the Department of Homeland Security, the agency whose policing of tough immigration restrictions under Mr Trump was a frequent source of controversy.

Signaling the Democratic president-elect’s campaign promise to raise the profile of global warming threats, he named Mr Kerry as a new special envoy on climate issues.

And in a further message of US reengagement with the international community, Mr Biden named career diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield for UN ambassador.

Jake Sullivan, who also advised Mr Biden when he was vice president under Mr Obama, was named national security adviser.

US President-elect Joe Biden is moving quickly to fill key slots in his incoming cabinet. Picture: AFP

FIRST FEMALE FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR

Mr Biden will nominate former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen to head the US Treasury, a choice that, if confirmed by the Senate, would make her the first woman in the job.

She will be charged with managing the world’s biggest economy

The 74-year-old, whose nomination was confirmed to AFP by a financial source close to the Biden administration, would be tasked with steering the world’s largest economy as it struggles with mass layoffs and a sharp growth slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Yellen will be the next treasury secretary” and she could be formally announced as early as Tuesday, the source said, confirming news first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Ms Yellen’s candidacy was supported by left-wing members of Biden’s Democratic Party, according to the source, and requires Senate confirmation.

Ms Yellen broke barriers when Mr Obama nominated her to serve as Fed chair in 2014, a position Mr Trump ousted her from four years later.

At the Fed, Ms Yellen was seen as a “dove” inclined towards low interest rates to support employment.

She would succeed Steven Mnuchin, and likely be faced with breaking a months-long deadlock in Congress over passing a new stimulus spending bill for the US economy – assuming politicians don’t act before Mr Biden’s inauguration in January.

Chief economist at Grant Thornton, Diane Swonk, called Ms Yellen “a highly talented and gifted economist” on Twitter.

“She will make a great treasury secretary at a critical time and write yet another chapter in the history books,” she said.

The Dow closed up 1.1 per cent following news of Ms Yellen’s nomination as well as another upbeat announcement concerning a COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Ms Yellen has signaled her support for more spending.

“Fiscal policy has a very important role to play now,” she said in an appearance this month. “I believe it’s essential.”