February 18, 2021: The Budget Committee will vote next week on whether to advance Neera Tanden’s nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget
President Joe Biden (D) and his team have been preparing for the transition between presidential administrations since the election, including selecting senior White House staff and appointees to top government positions.
In 2020, there were 1,472 government positions subject to presidential appointment: 1,118 positions required Senate confirmation and 354 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 administration.
- No committee hearings are scheduled Thursday.
- The Budget Committee scheduled a vote on whether to advance Neera Tanden‘s nomination for director of the Office of Management and Budget for Feb. 24. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs also held a confirmation hearing for Tanden and has not scheduled a vote yet.
News
- Biden signed an executive order rescinding Donald Trump’s executive order creating industry-recognized apprenticeships. Biden said the programs “have fewer quality standards than registered apprenticeship programs.” Biden also endorsed the National Apprenticeship Act of 2021, which he said would expand registered apprenticeships, and reinstated the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships.
- Biden nominated Jennifer Abruzzo for general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.
- Biden nominated Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Transition in Context
The following chart compares the pace of Senate confirmations for the main Cabinet members—the 15 agency heads in the presidential line of succession—following the inaugurations of Presidents Barack Obama (D) and Joe Biden (D). It does not include Cabinet-rank officials that vary by administration.
Four weeks after their respective inaugurations, Biden had six Cabinet secretaries confirmed and Obama had eleven. A twelfth Obama Cabinet member—Secretary of Defense Robert Gates—was held over from the Bush administration.
Note: In yesterday’s edition, we said Biden and Trump both had six Cabinet nominees confirmed 27 days after their inaugurations. Trump had nine nominees confirmed by that point. We apologize for the mistake! See a corrected version of yesterday’s “Transition in Context” feature here.