Harris “would likely keep some Biden officials,” and likely would have a “diverse” cabinet (see story here). Here are some educated guesses:
- Secretary of State: Blinken doesn’t want to stay; he could be replaced by the CIA director or Delaware Sen. Chris Coons or Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy
- Secretary of Defense: Michèle Flournoy, a top defense official under Obama, or either Colin Kahl or Mara Karlin, top defense officials under Biden
- National security adviser: Phil Gordon, Harris’s current national security adviser, is likely to have the same job and boss if her job title changes
- Attorney General: North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is the top contender
- Treasury Secretary: “She likes Janet Yellen,” Biden’s treasury secretary, but JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and several others are in the running
- Labor Secretary: California senator Laphonza Butler, appointed to finish the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term, “is an obvious pick”
- Transportation Secretary: Harris is “close friends” with Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s transportation secretary, who could either stay in that position or move to another cabinet position
- Republican appointee: Harris has pledged to have a Republican in her administration, but hasn’t specified a position, though Commerce is a possibility; potential candidates include Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Meg Whitman
The Trump campaign says cabinet discussions are “premature,” but the Washington D.C. rumor mill is busy nevertheless (see story here):
- Secretary of State: Senators Marco Rubio (FL), Tom Cotton (ARK), or Bill Hagerty (TN); also former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien
- Secretary of Defense: Sen. Cotton, Rep. Michael Waltz (FL), former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, or former acting secretary of defense Christopher Miller
- Attorney General: Sen. Eric Schmitt (MO) and Texas AG Ken Paxton are mentioned, and sometimes so is this guy
- Treasury Secretary: Hedge fund boss John Paulson, former treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, former trade representative Robert Lighthizer, or Trump fundraiser Scott Bessant
- Energy Secretary: Gov. Doug Burgum (ND) is the likely pick
- Various cabinet positions: Gov. Glenn Youngkin (VA), Vivek Ramaswamy, Ben Carson, former EPA director Andrew Wheeler,
- Democratic appointee: Trump and Vance have both said he’ll appoint a Democrat if he “agrees with their views;” the two names mentioned are Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, who’ve called themselves Democrats in the past, but no Democrat today considers them Democrats