Ballotpedia's Daily Transition Tracker - December 23, 2020
December 23, 2020
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Alex Padilla will fill the vacancy left by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate. Prior to taking office on January 20, 2021, President-elect Joe Biden (D) and his team must prepare for the transition between presidential administrations, including selecting senior White House staff and appointees to top government positions. In 2016, there were 1,714 government positions subject to presidential appointment: 1,242 positions required Senate confirmation and 472 did not. The new administration is also responsible for filling thousands of other positions across the federal government, including in operations and policy. Every weekday, Ballotpedia is tracking potential Cabinet nominees, appointments, and news related to the Biden presidential transition.
Miguel Cardona, secretary of educationBiden announced Miguel Cardona as his nominee for secretary of education on Tuesday night. Cardona has served as the Connecticut commissioner of education since 2019. He began his career in education as an elementary school teacher. He then worked as a principal for a decade before becoming the superintendent for teaching and learning in Meriden, Connecticut, in 2013.
Congressional affairs staff members and volunteers who guide nominees through the confirmation process are known as sherpas. They are familiar with Senate protocol and help nominees navigate the intricacies of each committee’s filing requirements and culture during confirmation hearings. In 2016, the Trump Transition had more than a dozen sherpas for Cabinet-level nominees. According to the Center for Presidential Transition, “All the sherpas had congressional experience and most had worked in a senior capacity in the Senate … The Trump administration took a more decentralized approach to the role of the sherpa for lower-level nominees and delegated this responsibility to different staff within the agencies.” Jen Psaki, who will serve as White House press secretary in the Biden administration, was assigned to lead the Biden Transition's sherpas in November.
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