If Biden wins, Politico says this Kansas City name could be a candidate for Cabinet role
Former Missouri Democratic secretary of state Jason Kander could be in the running for a Cabinet position under Joe Biden if the latter is elected president, according to a recent report from Politico.
Kander, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, is one of two people Politico listed Thursday as possible candidates for Biden’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs; the other is Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
The role would appear to fit Kander’s background. He’s an Army veteran who previously served as a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan. Last year, he also took over as leader of the national expansion of a local nonprofit — Veterans Community Project — which is focused on ending veterans’ homelessness.
Politico, in its article, also cited a different report from D.C. government relations firm Plurus Strategies that revealed its own list of potential Biden Administration nominees.
Kander was one of four contenders for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs according to Plurus, joining South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Texas Rep. Chet Edwards and previous Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald.
After winning Missouri’s secretary of state election in 2012, Kander made a run for Senate in 2016, falling to Republican incumbent Roy Blunt. Kander later announced plans to run for KC mayor in 2019 before dropping out to focus on treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that he said stemmed from his tour of Afghanistan.
Kander, from 2017-18, also briefly considered a run for President.
