biden transition
Yellen promises Treasury climate czar, supports another relief package in confirmation hearing
President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet picks started facing Senate confirmation hearings Tuesday morning, and the first few are slated for an easy approval.
Biden's Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen outlined a broad policy platform in her hearing, promising to focus on the coronavirus pandemic's devastating economic impact from "day one" and encouraging Congress to pass another relief package. Notably, she pledged to name a "very senior-level" official within the department focused on climate, noting "climate change itself and policies to address it could have major impacts, creating stranded assets, generating large changes in asset prices, credit risks, and so forth that could affect the financial system."
Avril Haines, Biden's nominee to be director of national intelligence, seemingly faced little opposition as she addressed tension with China and Iran's nuclear program, The Associated Press reports. Homeland Security Secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas meanwhile faced concerns over a 2015 inspector general report contending he showed "an appearance of favoritism and special access" while working in DHS under Obama. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair Rob Portman (R-Ohio) called the report "troubling," but conceded Mayorkas has "a lot of experience" in national security, Politico reports.
After the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) blocked a unanimous measure to quickly consider Mayorkas. The nominee had promised to do everything he could to stop another violent uprising at the Capitol, something Hawley's opposition to the election allegedly helped inspire.
Yellen, Haines, and Mayorkas are expected to be among Biden's easiest nominees to confirm, bipartisan lawmakers and their aides tell Punchbowl News. Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken, whose hearing began Tuesday afternoon, is also expected to have a smooth confirmation process. Defense Secretary nominee Lloyd Austin is meanwhile likely to face pushback over his recent military experience in his Tuesday afternoon hearing.