Will Bernie Sanders join Biden’s Cabinet? South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn backs the idea
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, says he hopes to see Sen. Bernie Sanders in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.
Biden has started assembling his administration and White House staff as he prepares to take office on Jan. 20, 2021. On Monday, the Biden-Harris Transition Team announced nominations and appointments for several key positions, including multiple Cabinet posts.
His Cabinet nominees must still be confirmed by the Senate.
Clyburn on Tuesday pushed for Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, to be included in the incoming administration when asked on CNN who he thought could have a role in Biden’s Cabinet.
“There are a lot of young people out there, and some not-so-young people, like Bernie Sanders — I wish he would come into the administration,” Clyburn told CNN.
Sanders a potential Cabinet pick
Sanders, a former presidential hopeful, has been floated as a possible pick for Secretary of Labor, Politico reports.
The senator has signaled he’s interested in the position and has said he would accept the role if offered.
“If I had a portfolio that allowed me to stand up and fight for working families, would I do it? Yes, I would,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer earlier this month.
But Biden could face challenges to including too many progressives in his Cabinet as he looks to strike a balance between the demands of the Democratic party’s progressive wing and the “political realities of a narrowly-divided Senate,” The Associated Press reports.
Control of the Senate will be determined by two runoff races in Georgia. One pits first-term Republican Sen. David Perdue against Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, and the other pits Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler against Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat who is attempting to become the state’s first Black senator.
Sanders has spoken out against the idea of Biden potentially leaving out progressives as he forms his administration.
“It would be, for example, enormously insulting if Biden put together a ‘team of rivals’ — and there’s some discussion that that’s what he intends to do — which might include Republicans and conservative Democrats but which ignored the progressive community,” he told The AP. “I think that would be very, very unfortunate.”
Clyburn’s influence
Clyburn reportedly has “significant sway” with Biden as his endorsement was said to have played a key role in the success of his campaign, Forbes reports.
Four days before South Carolina held its Democratic primary election, Clyburn came out in support of the former vice president, saying “I want the public to know I am voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden,” The State reported in February.
Biden “easily” won the South Carolina primary.
Though Clyburn’s endorsement was expected, as he and Biden are long-time friends, The State reported it was “one of the most consequential” endorsement at that point in the campaign.
Clyburn was first elected to the House in 1993 and was re-elected to serve as majority whip last week, making him the third-highest ranking member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Will Bernie Sanders join Biden’s Cabinet? South Carolina’s Jim Clyburn backs the idea."
