President-elect Joe Biden has made good on his promise of a diverse administration by naming a senior communications team made up of women. He has announced his economics and communications team that consists of mostly women, including several of color.
As America grapples with the coronavirus, an economic crisis, and racial tension, Biden has presented a diverse administration, including Neera Tanden, who is expected to be nominated as director of the office of management and budget. Tanden is currently the chief executive of the Center for American Progress and is the child of parents who immigrated from India. If the sources close to Biden are correct, she will be the first woman of color to lead the department.
According to the Washington Post, Biden is expected to appoint Cecilia Rouse, an African American Princeton University labor economist, as chair of the three-member council of economic advisers. Rouse will work alongside economists Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey. This would make her the first African American to chair the council.
Biden has recently named economist Janet Yellen as his Treasury secretary and Jennifer Psaki as the White House press secretary. She is one of seven women who will spearhead the White House’s communication department. It is an unprecedented administration, considering it will be majority run by female top aides.
Kate Bedingfield will remain as a top official to Biden. She served as his campaign communications director and will keep the same title.
Biden’s election victory was powered by women, and he plans on keeping his administration powered by women. His running mate, Kamala Harris, made history as both the first African American and the first woman Vice President-elect.
Biden plans to keep making history, vowing to name the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court if the chance presents itself for him to fill a vacancy.
“They are a very cohesive group, with great strengths and diverse viewpoints,” top aide Anita Dunn said when speaking on the announcement of the communications team. “And a very strong team.”
This will also change the way journalists cover the administration. It will now have a female perspective. “The odds are very high that if it’s a story about the Biden administration, any aspect of it, at least one quote in the story will be from a woman,” Dunn said.
