Biden hopes to announce some Cabinet nominees before Thanksgiving

President-elect Joe Biden is getting ready for his inauguration even if the current occupants of the White House are not.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris held a press conference Tuesday outlining early plans for their administration. Biden affirmed President Trump's refusal to accept his win didn't affect transition plans, and that the still-undecided party makeup of the Senate wouldn't affect his Cabinet choices either.

It's still possible Democrats can gain control of the Senate by winning both of Georgia's Senate seats in their January runoff; Harris would then be the Democratic tiebreaker. But regardless of whether that happens, Biden says it won't affect his Cabinet picks, and that he'll have to negotiate with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to make some of his choices work. "I hope we're going to be able" to announced "at least a couple" of those nominees before Thanksgiving, Biden added.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Also on Tuesday, Biden and Harris announced their agency review teams tasked with facilitating a smooth transfer of power from the Trump administration to Biden's. The teams include hundreds of volunteers and a few paid employees who will figure out how executive agencies and cabinet departments function to allow Biden, Harris, and their cabinet to "hit the ground running on day one," the Biden transition team said.