Here are the Connecticut people being considered for Biden administration positions
President-Elect Joe Biden's transition team has started compiling names to fill his cabinet.
After winning enough electoral votes, President-Elect Joe Biden now will start the process of choosing members of his cabinet. Some of Biden’s Connecticut supporters have been floated as potential picks.
Chris Dodd, the former Democratic Connecticut U.S. senator, has an almost 40-year friendship with Biden from when they served together in the Senate. Dodd helped Biden choose Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris as his running mate. With great-grandparents who were all born in Ireland, Dodd is rumored to be in the running for Ambassador to Ireland.
Chris Shays, a former congressman in Connecticut’s Fairfield County, also has potential to serve in the Biden cabinet. Described as a moderate Republican and Trump opponent, Shays endorsed Biden in August and campaigned for the Democrat. According to the CT Mirror, past presidents have chosen people of the opposite political party to serve in their administration and with Biden aiming for unity, this isn’t an unlikely move for him.
After announcing he will appoint a teacher to lead the U.S. Department of Education, 5th district Connecticut congresswoman Jahana Hayes emerged as a contender. Hayes was named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year and she was an early supporter of Harris.
COVID-19 will be a major focus of Biden once he takes office and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a doctor and professor at Yale School of Medicine, was selected to be part of the Biden transition team’s COVID-19 advisory board. This could lead Nunez-Smith to work on health policy within the administration.
Dan Esty, the former Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner could get a look for EPA chief or another post within that agency, according to CT Post. Esty is a Yale law and environment professor and previously held positions at EPA as a young lawyer under former President George H.W. Bush.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, whose name was mentioned as a potential Secretary of State, said at a Nov. 6 press conference that he prefers to remain in the Senate, the Hartford Courant reported.