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WASHINGTON When President-elect Joe Biden announced the core of his national security team on Monday, there was one glaring omission: his choice for defense secretary.

That absence is leading to questions about whether Michle Flournoy, a politically moderate Pentagon veteran whose confirmation would give the Defense Department its first woman leader, remains the odds-on favorite for the role.

The doubts came as Flournoy has been under pressure from the left over her defense industry ties and relatively hawkish views. Flournoy joined Booz Allen Hamiltons board and co-founded defense consulting firm WestExec Advisors in 2018, and, in 2007, co-founded the Center for a New American Security think tank, which relies on support from defense firms.

On Monday, Biden announced Antony Blinken, his longtime adviser and Flournoys partner at WestExec, as his nominee for secretary of state. Biden also selected Jake Sullivan for national security adviser; Alejandro Mayorkas for homeland security secretary; Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and Avril Haines for director of national intelligence. Haines also has ties to WestExec.

Politico reported Monday that while Flournoy is still a strong contender, Biden is not entirely sold on her, though its unclear how big of a role the resistance from the left is playing. Jeh Johnson, President Barack Obamas second secretary of homeland security, is another top candidate and he would be the first Black defense secretary, but he could also concern progressives as a member of Lockheed Martins board.

Fox News reported Monday that Flournoy will be the pick, but the timing of the move is not clear. The Biden transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

There is a push to support Flournoys candidacy amid the uncertainty.

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A group of 11 military and veteran support organizations endorsed Flournoy over the weekend, praising her undisputed expertise and calling for a swift confirmation, should she be nominated. And after news of some Biden picks leaked without a defense secretary on Monday, the No Exceptions initiative, which pushed to open all combat positions to women, activated its email network to urgently gather signatures for an open letter to support Flournoy as a historic choice.

Michle was a tremendous ally to No Exceptions in our fight to open all combat roles in the U.S. Armed Forces to women. Now, its our turn to support her, said the email, which was described as time sensitive. The group hoped to release their letter Tuesday or Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.

Flournoys Pentagon experience is not in doubt, as she has served multiple times in the Defense Department, starting in the 1990s and most recently as the undersecretary of defense for policy from 2009 to 2012.

Still, progressives wary of Flournoys business dealings want Biden to show a break from President Donald Trump, who selected two defense secretaries from industry: former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan and former Raytheon executive Mark Esper.

Left-leaning Reps. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Barbara Lee, D-Calif., wrote a letter this month asking Biden not to nominate a defense secretary who has ties to defense contractors, which was seen as a veiled shot at Flournoy. Meanwhile, progressive groups are broadly calling for greater transparency into the potential conflicts of interest of executive branch appointees.

After the rampant corruption and conflicts of interest weve seen in the Trump administration, it would behoove the Biden administration to really demonstrate they are charting a different course and they are adding some protections to restore faith and trust in these institutions, said Stephen Miles, executive director of Win Without War, a progressive foreign policy organization.

Another concern for progressives is that Flournoy, as reported by Foreign Policy, clashed with Biden over U.S. force levels in Afghanistan when he was vice president and she was Pentagon policy chief during the Obama administration and in the past, she pushed to keep more U.S. forces in Iraq. (Biden is seeking a swift pullout from Afghanistan with a residual counter-terrorism force.)

In a tweet on Sunday, Rep. Ro Khanna, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and House Armed Services Committee, raised questions about Flournoy publicly and by name.

Flournoy supported the war in Iraq & Libya, criticized Obama on Syria, and helped craft the surge in Afghanistan. I want to support the Presidents picks, said Khanna, D-Calif., referring to Biden. But will Flournoy now commit to a full withdrawal from Afghanistan & a ban on arms sales to the Saudis to end the Yemen war?

Progressives and grassroots advocates spurred congressional actions around ending U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen an end Biden supports and is included in the 2020 Democratic platform and they want to ensure his administration keeps human rights concerns at the center of a new, less-militarized U.S. foreign policy.

I think progressives effectively pulled together with the Biden campaign to get a number of important foreign policy priorities into the Democratic Party platform, said Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders. Now progressives are going to want to hear from any nominee how theyre going to be following through on those commitments.

Flournoy has taken the concerns of progressive foreign policy groups seriously enough that she convened a call with them, and she offered assurances she opposed the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia that could be used in Yemen, according to Politico.

Because Flournoy, Blinken and other Biden team figures have maintained or at least opened communications with progressive groups, some of their representatives say their intent isnt to block Flournoy or other nominees, but to put progressive issues and foreign policy concerns on the table.

You dont have to protest outside the White House when you can go into the White House and make the case for your position, Miles said. That doesnt mean you never protest outside the White House, but when theres a time and a place for it.

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No SecDef pick from Biden as Flournoy hits resistance from progressives - DefenseNews.com

Though there are many positions left to fill, Bidens Cabinet announcements so far fit a pattern: The former vice president has chosen people for top positions who havent sparked bitter or protracted fights with the left without giving progressives any major wins. None of Bidens nods have been wildly off the mark to the left flank of the Democratic Party. And the president-elect has also selected leaders who, despite being moderate, have spent time building relationships with progressives.

It could have been a lot worse, said Rebecca Katz, a progressive strategist who advised incoming left-wing Rep. Jamaal Bowmans campaign, adding that things could still change. Hes not picking any lefties. Hes just picking people who havent alienated the left, who are listening.

Several progressive elected officials, aides and activists have, in turn, offered cautious praise of Biden during the transition period and avoided serious battles with him so far. They stressed, however, that it is early in the process and things could certainly shift, especially during confirmation hearings. Still, their posture toward Bidens Cabinet selections to date stands out when compared with the no-holds-barred brawl between moderate and left-wing Democrats in Congress that has been raging since Election Day.

Progressives said that for many of Bidens picks, theres been a worse option that theyre grateful he didnt choose. In many of those cases, they lobbied his team to keep those people out.

For Treasury, the fear was that he might go with Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a former venture capitalist who is disliked by labor unions because she cut pensions. For secretary of State, Blinken is viewed on the left as preferable to moderate Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a longtime Biden ally. For his chief of staff, they implored Biden to pick his eventual choice, Ron Klain, who played a role in Bidens outreach to progressives this year, over Steve Ricchetti, a former lobbyist.

Progressives are breathing a little bit of a sigh of relief because the wing of the party that Joe Biden comes from is not getting everything they want here, said Waleed Shahid, spokesperson for the Justice Democrats, which recruited Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for Congress. Meaning The Third Way, conservative wing of the party.

Progressive immigrant rights groups such as United We Dream tepidly welcomed the appointment of Alejandro Mayorkas to head Homeland Security, who as the first Latino to potentially lead the department could bring a different tone.

But Biden and Mr. Mayorkas were part of the team that unfortunately oversaw millions of deportations, said Greisa Martinez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream. And we see our role as holding everyone accountable to ensure that does not happen again.

Some even go beyond faint approval. Liberals closely aligned with the Warren wing of the progressive movement said theres a lot to be happy about in Bidens early selections.

The biggest turning point was actually the selection of Ron Klain, which we saw as extremely positive news, said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. That sent a broader signal that when there are multiple options on the table for Biden, and one of them is most acceptable to progressives that he will go in that direction, keeping peace in the land.

Some progressives, however, criticize left-wing groups for going too far in applauding Bidens safe choices.

I dont want to exaggerate. John Kerrys fine. [But] this need to pretend that these milquetoast nominees with mixed records are great progressive heroes is pretty pathetic, said David Sirota, Sanders former speechwriter. What I think we need right now are advocacy groups and activists and journalists to just be honest about who these nominees are.

Part of Bidens successful navigation so far seems to stem from his own strength in nurturing political relationships and his decision to tap personnel with similar attributes. Biden gets along with Sanders and Warren, both of whom have sought top jobs in the administration. Climate activists said Kerry worked well with them on policy task forces that Biden formed with Sanders after the primary. Likewise, Matt Duss, Sanders foreign policy adviser, said Blinken helped in the lefts attempt to end U.S. support for the war in Yemen, which meant a lot.

During the campaign, Tony and his team made a point to engage regularly with progressive groups as part of Bidens broader effort to reach out to the left and unify the party, said Duss. Theres no doubt it helped them win, and continuing to do it now will help them govern.

Progressives said another reason Biden likely went with what they see as broadly acceptable picks not only to them, but also to moderates and even some conservatives is because of the close divide in Congress. Democrats hold a slim majority in the House and, at best, would face the same situation in the Senate if the party wins two runoff races in Georgia. That is forcing Biden to appeal more to the left, they said.

Liberal Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said progressives arent going to come out swinging early when they see a lot to applaud. For one, he said, the appointees understand the national security implications of climate change. And Yellen, Schatz said, is closer to a dream pick than people may realize because the nominee represents a big formal break from the idea that austerity helps the overall economy.

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Still, the left needs to see the full pantheon of nominees before we make a judgment about whether this team is sufficiently committed to the kinds of change necessary, he said. At the same time, Democrats need to be vigilant against the-cupboard-is-bare instinct" when spending money for top priorities, said Schatz. Progressives will push Biden on that point as he makes appointments, but he cautioned, if we freak out, hair-on-fire about the small stuff, nobody's going to listen to us about the big stuff.

That isnt to say Biden hasnt received any blowback from progressives. The Sunrise Movement, a group of young climate change activists, said it felt like a betrayal when Biden tapped Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) as a senior adviser. The left-wing organization Demand Progress lists Ricchetti, whom Biden has empowered to be the White House liaison to Congress and corporate leaders, as a Person of Interest on its website aimed at keeping corporate insiders out of the administration.

Moving forward, progressives major focus is on excluding Democrats who favor austere governing from Bidens team. In recent days, progressive lawmakers and strategists have launched petitions and tweeted their opposition to some Obama-era carryovers. For instance, they are trying to keep centrist former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and deficit hawk Bruce Reed away from the Biden White House, particularly in top spots such as Transportation secretary and the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

Progressives also oppose Mike Morell, who has defended drone strikes, for CIA director and BlackRock managing director Brian Deese for the National Economic Council. Jennifer Epps-Addison, president of the left-wing Center for Popular Democracy, which endorsed Sanders in the primary, said the appointments of Deese or Reed would feel like a bridge really far away from bringing these different factions within the party together.

Similarly, Schatz said, a Reed appointment is worth watching, but he didnt want to assume that, because Reed was a key presence in a fiscal reform commission derided by progressives under former President Barack Obama, his views are locked and that he's gonna work with Third Way and cut spending.

In a statement provided by Biden's team, former presidential candidate Tom Steyer came to Reed's defense: "He's a climate champion who will fully support the Biden clean energy plan, and anyone who thinks he will put budget deficits over the needs of working families struggling to make ends meet during a pandemic simply doesn't know Bruce."

Third Way, the center-left think tank, described its credentials as being from "the Joe Biden wing of the Democratic Party" and said "no Democrats in their right minds" are advocating spending cuts amid multiple crises.

The left is also urging Biden to go with Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), a Warren ally, for secretary of the Interior, and keeping a close eye on whom Biden nominates to the Justice Department. And the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is pushing Biden on lower-level government positions, collaborating with some 40 liberal and nonpartisan groups on a list sent by the Progressive Change Institute to his transition team.

"It's not as progressive as I would like it to be, but it's good news that Biden so far is also keeping conservative Democrats who are hostile to progressives, like Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed, out, said Bowman of Bidens picks. The Cabinet process is just the beginning these are the folks we have to work with, but also the folks we're going to push."

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Biden keeps the peace with first Cabinet picks - POLITICO

When we were Capitol Hill staffers more than a decade ago, the Congressional Progressive Caucus had members, but not much power.

Times have changed. As a result of both successful Democratic primaries and proactive power-building by progressive incumbents over the past four years, a reformed and strengthened CPC is now poised to make progressives a more powerful force within the House than at any time in modern American history.

They arent just the four-member squad but also include newly elected progressive insurgents like Marie Newman, Cori Bush, Mondaire Jones and Jamaal Bowman. Combined with Pramila Jayapal, the CPCs current co-chair, and her deep bench of committed progressives like Ro Khanna and Lloyd Doggett, the squad has become a platoon on the way to a battalion.

Its not just votes though, its how you organize those votes. For years, the CPC has grown in size, but membership has traditionally required little of its members. No more. Just last week, the CPC passed game-changing reforms to its own caucus rules. These rule changes will empower the CPC to organize itself to negotiate and vote as a single bloc on specific legislation to secure progressive improvements or remove dangerous provisions. With just a slim margin in the House, Democratic leadership will need the votes of progressives to pass legislation. The CPC now has the opportunity to use this leverage to ensure bills include progressive priorities.

Conservatives have long been at this game. Weve seen the consequences when progressives are not willing to wield the collective power of their votes. Over and over again, House Democratic leadership has asked progressives to compromise their values to pass bills that have been watered down or contain trade-offs designed to satisfy the most conservative members of the Democratic Caucus. The reality is that those conservative members have been better organized and more willing to make clear demands backed up by their votes. With this newly organized and empowered CPC, progressives have cards to play in all future legislating during the Biden era cards they just havent had during the Trump era.

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House progressives are building something new, exciting, and powerful - Roll Call

Progressives and activists are ratcheting up their pressure campaigns against President-elect Biden as the incoming commander-in-chief builds out his administration.

Immigrant advocacy groups, while happy that President Trump was defeated, do not plan to give his successor an easy time.

Hell yeah, Im optimistic. I dont know what the hell we were going to do if Trump won again. But then the other side of me is like, I know how this works,' Marisa Franco, executive director of grassroots advocacy group Mijente told Politico.

Nothing is going to be enough that [Biden] does and thats the same issue that folks in the crime-and-justice movement have and folks in policing [reform] have. I think its very possible for things to get lost and thats what our job is: To make sure it doesnt, she added.

Biden is also facing ramped-up pressure from lawmakers within his own party, with Squad members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) signing on to a petition against him nominating former chief of staff Bruce Reed to run the Office of Management and Budget.

The petition was launched by Justice Democrats, a group dedicated to electing progressives, which referred to Reed as a deficit hawk and slammed his past work on the 1994 crime bill and the Bowles-Simpson Commission, which urged massive deficit reductions.

We are extremely concerned by the reports that Reed is a frontrunner to head the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Biden administration, given his history of antipathy towards economic security programs that working people rely on. We demand that OMB be staffed with people who will prioritize working people, not Wall Street deficit scaremongers, the petition language reads.

It also warns that, Biden must not repeat Obamas mistake by working with Reed.

Following Bidens first rollout of cabinet and administration picks, which included no progressives, some in that wing of the party privately told Axios that they felt concerned about a couple of the names being floated.

Specifically, some argued that the order of Bidens announcements was important in terms of messaging, and the lack of a progressive presence thus far had created worry.

With two months to go before taking office, the incoming commander-in-chief has set a high bar on the issue of immigration, as activists are expecting him to present and pass an adequate reform package early in his presidency.

Speaking to Politico, multiple Hispanic Caucus members said that a large number of Democrats would be severely disappointed if immigration reform was not addressed early.

Thats not going to sit well with a lot of folks, one lawmaker in the caucus told the outlet.

While Bidens ability to push through legislation will come down to who wins the two Georgia Senate run-off races come January, he and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have publicly pledged that immigration would be addressed first.

After the Supreme Court blocked the White House from ending the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in June, Biden committed to sending a bill to Congress on day one of his administration making the program permanent.

The Supreme Courts ruling today is a victory made possible by the courage and resilience of hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients who bravely stood up and refused to be ignored. As President, I will immediately work to make it permanent by sending a bill to Congress on day one of my Administration, the former vice president said in a statement at the time.

DACA is a program that covers individuals who have been in the United States since they were children because they were brought into the country illegally by their parents.

Asked by The Hill in July if immigration would be top-of-mind for Democrats if they won in November, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) referred to Biden and Schumers promises.

Theyve all said its first up, the Illinois Democrat said.

Its definitely on the agenda, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) told the outlet, adding that immigration reform would have economic benefits.

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Progressives, activists plan to hound Biden on staffing - New York Post

When President-elect Joe Biden announced Ron Klain to be the White House chief of staff in his forthcoming administration, a rush of leading voices in the Democratic Partys left wing publicly applauded the move.

Then came the official nomination of Tony Blinken as secretary of state. And John Kerry as climate czar. And news reports about Janet Yellen leading the Treasury Department.

Those too were met with nods of approval from some of the most vociferous forces on the left.

As the the Biden transition picks up steam, what started as early sighs of relief with Klains appointment has ballooned into a pronounced endorsement of Bidens initial selections to lead some of the highest-profile positions in government, with progressives giving the president-elect a hat tip on the delicate balancing act of appealing to both wings early on.

The Biden team made a really genuine effort to reach out to the left on a whole range of issues, including on foreign policy, Matt Duss, who serves as foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), told The Daily Beast in an interview. They understood this helped them to win and now I think they understand that it can help them govern.

Top progressives close to Sanders and others in the partys left flank, as they tell it, are not praising Bidens first personnel installments because they expect them to enact grassroots-oriented changes in the way Sanders would hope to. By nature of being closely aligned with Biden, they are largely institutionalists, too.

But the fact that the future president has curated a slate of names that, so far, have not incited or alienated the left is considered a positive development among those who often eagerly convey grievances about Democratic officials policy positions and personal biographies alike.

Tactically, Klain is one of Bidens closest advisers who had a central role in molding his successful campaign against President Donald Trump. On policy, Blinken has been Bidens right-hand on foreign affairs for over a decade, helping him craft responses to pressing geopolitical issues. And Yellen is perceived among Democrats as a capable and respected former chair of the Federal Reserve appointed by Bidens old boss, President Barack Obama.

Sanders advisers and aides agree that Blinken has a history of meeting minds with progressives. Duss, who fashioned the senators foreign policy platform for his second presidential campaign, said that Blinken and others regularly engaged with left-leaning foreign policy groups during the general election, a strategic decision that he said has now helped create a natural bridge between the two sides. Entering a new administration with that type of dialogue within the community is essentially unprecedented, he said.

Having those relationships going in and having those avenues of communication with a secretary of state is new for a secretary and for the progressive left, Duss said.

Ari Rabin-Havt, who was recently Sanders deputy campaign manager, agreed that top fixtures on the left are ready to engage in a productive manner with nominees announced by Bidens transition.

What this shows is progressive leaders on individual issues are very willing to hear out the Biden administration and give honest assessments, said Rabin-Havt. I think if you saw a different set of people rolled out, you would see different assessments.

Among the more notable names unveiled this week, Bidens choice of Kerry as climate envoy, who will also sit on the National Security Council, was met with a positive reception among top activists.

Kerry was one of Bidens main endorsers who also doubled as a surrogate during the campaign. During some of the more trying junctures of his bidincluding in the first two primariesKerry loyally stumped for him, often to little fanfare, in anticipation of more fortuitous days to come.

Despite Bidens decision not to adopt the signature Green New Deal proposal favored adamantly by those within the movement, some pointed to Kerrys willingness to work with progressive activists recently as one bullet point indicating momentum.

Varshini Prakash, the Sunrise Movements executive director, said she linked up with Kerry on the Biden-Sanders taskforce, one of several areas where Biden and Sanders allies collaborated in anticipation of a post-Trump era. He really does care about stopping climate change. Thats something we can work with, Prakash wrote on Twitter.

Biden is expected to name additional posts in the coming weeks. And some possibilities have already been met with objections. Those conversations are largely focused around Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of Staff under Obama and former Chicago mayor, and longtime Biden hand Bruce Reed. Incoming freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) wrote a lengthy thread detailing his strong disapproval of Emanuel, which was subsequently echoed by like-minded members, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Other names floated such as former Obama-era Deputy Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Morell, who is under consideration to head up the agency, have been met with some Democratic skepticism about getting a leading defender of torture tactics confirmed in the Senate.

But for now, the outrage is the exception. Some Democrats view that as a reflection of Bidens ability to walk a line among professionals who are, essentially, getting moved up a career notch, as well as his desire to avoid snubbing a substantial portion of the party who proactively helped him defeat Trump.

Whats very interesting about the picks that have been made so far is you can basically describe them as job promotions for people who have been in the job just underneath that for a number of years, said Joel Rubin, who was Sanders Jewish outreach director during his 2020 campaign and a senior State Department official under Obama (and periodic Daily Beast contributor).

Theres no jaggedness or newness in the spheres that they will be responsible for in the sense of a new human who comes in and is just totally distinct from anything that was there beforehand. In many ways, theres a familiarity that enables more confidence from the get go.

That sense of preparedness is clear with Yellen. While not considered a steadfast Biden loyalist like Klain and Blinken, her steering of the federal reserve has long excited some Hill progressives, including in particular Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Warren publicly applauded Yellen on Monday, along with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group that supports her policies.

Progressives lost the primary so are not going to pick the cabinet obviously, said Sean McElwee, who founded Data for Progress, which also boosts Warrens agenda. But theres a difference between entirely shutting out what progressives want and taking it into consideration.

In terms of the band of possible options that became possible after Super Tuesday, these are on the most optimistic end of that for progressives.

See more here:
Progressives Can't Find Anyone in Biden's Cabinet to Be Mad AboutYet - The Daily Beast