March 15, 2021: Biden is appointing economist Gene Sperling as the point person for his administration’s coronavirus relief plan.
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.
- There are no confirmation-related committee hearings scheduled on Monday.
- The Senate will vote on the nomination of Debra Haaland for secretary of the interior on Monday evening.
- Cloture was also filed in the nominations of Isabel Guzman for administrator of the Small Business Administration and Katherine Tai for U.S. trade representative.
News
- The Biden administration announced on Friday that it was terminating an information-sharing agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services that allowed information from potential sponsors of unaccompanied minors to be shared with immigration enforcement authorities.
- Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Japan on Monday for the first in-person, overseas diplomatic meeting of the Biden administration.
- Biden selected economist Gene Sperling as the point person for his administration’s coronavirus relief plan. This position does not require Senate confirmation. Sperling, who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, will be responsible for implementing the stimulus package in the American Rescue Plan Act.
- The U.S. Solicitor General’s Office requested the Supreme Court dismiss several cases related to cutting federal funding for medical facilities that referred patients to abortion services on Friday.
Transition in Context: Help is Here Tour
Biden and other administration officials are traveling across the country to promote the coronavirus economic recovery package. In 2019, the Trump administration similarly held a week of events to promote the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, beginning with Trump speaking in Minnesota.
Here is the schedule this week for Biden’s Help is Here Tour:
- March 15: First Lady Jill Biden will be in Burlington, New Jersey. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will be in Las Vegas.
- March 16: Biden will be in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Harris and Emhoff will visit Denver.
- March 17: Emhoff will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- March 19: Biden and Harris will be in Atlanta.