President-elect Joe Biden is filling out his cabinet and other senior roles in his administration as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20.
Having campaigned on a pledge to build a cabinet “that looks like America,” Mr. Biden’s planned nominations have included historic firsts for women and racial minorities. But he has faced calls for more diversity and criticism from progressives who remain skeptical of his policy agenda.
All cabinet nominees will require confirmation in a closely divided Senate. Mr. Biden ran as a consensus builder, emphasizing his decades-long career in the Senate as a party moderate. His choices for top jobs in his administration have so far been well-known Washington figures, many of whom served in the Obama administration, signaling an emphasis on experience.
Mr. Biden and his team face an immediate challenge of steering the country out of a pandemic that had claimed more than 370,000 lives as of Saturday and an economic recession that has left millions jobless. Mr. Biden’s cabinet picks will play a crucial role in his plans to provide coronavirus relief, as well as in executing his domestic and foreign-policy priorities.