There have been zero changes in the secretaries, executives and directors that make up the official Cabinet, a clear distinction from Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, who had already lost three cabinet officials by this point. .
Biden may choose to make the change around two years into his term, the traditional point at which a president reconsiders his team. The stability of top officials in the Biden administration reflects his desire to bring order to a federal government that has been chaotic during Trump’s presidency.
It also reflects his reluctance to shake his team despite being called upon to remove members of the administration at various points. Biden has refrained from calling for members of the Cabinet to be removed or resigned and is looking to anchor his senior team months before this year’s midterm elections.
Officials say there could be changes to both the president’s cabinet and senior White House staff later this year, but no move is guaranteed. When the composition of Congress changes in midterm elections, it often serves as a natural point for changing quotas or making adjustments.
Biden has already adjusted West Wing staffing, including adding lawyers and communications aides to help combat the onslaught of Republican-led surveillance investigations in anticipation of Republican control of the House. .
Some high-ranking officials like Covid advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci are preparing to leave soon. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry told CNN he plans to stay in office at least until the next major international climate summit in November, but did not say if he would stay beyond that. rice field. And Biden recently appointed Democratic White House veteran John Podesta as his climate adviser.
But at the top of a string of federal ministries and agencies, the team Biden first convened in early 2021 is firmly entrenched.
“It’s good that we’re all here together,” Biden said at the start of the Cabinet meeting.
I wasn’t always optimistic. Biden has struggled to advance that agenda over the past year. Coupled with rising inflation and a lingering pandemic, his approval ratings plummeted.
This has led to self-analysis among Democrats, including some questioning whether Biden has the right people in place to help advance his vision. West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who was hesitant to move forward with Biden’s economic vision, has openly complained about the White House staff.
As is often the case in any White House, there have been some tensions between the West Wing and certain cabinet organs, including over-handling the pandemic and curbing runaway inflation.
But for the most part, Biden has prevented disagreements and controversies from spilling over into the kind of dysfunction that has often plagued Trump’s team.
On Tuesday, Biden did not call on members of his Cabinet to address reporters, as Trump did at his quarterly Cabinet meeting. Often these sessions turned into tributes to Trump’s leadership as officials took turns praising his superiors.
By comparison, Biden has kept the Cabinet completely intact.
“I’m happy with the team,” Biden told reporters earlier this year.
There have been turnovers among his senior staff, including top positions in the West Wing. His press secretary, White House adviser and senior public affairs adviser all resigned earlier this year. Some senior officials decided to leave the White House, others left after he was in office for a year, and others left at the beginning of the summer.
It was traditionally the time of year when top executives moved in and out of the West Wing. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klein has pushed internally to finalize Biden’s senior team by July 4 in preparation for a heated political season, officials said.
Biden’s communications adviser, Anita Dunn, returned to the White House in May. Along with Crane, Biden’s close circle of advisers remain intact, including senior advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricketty, chiefs of staff Bruce Reed and Jen O’Malley Dillon, and communications director Kate Bedingfield.
When Bedingfield announced she was leaving this summer, she abruptly changed her mind days later, saying, “After much thought, discussion and reflection, I have decided to stay.”
Biden’s first-year turnover rate was “one of the lowest in the last six administrations and may reflect the impact of experience and professional transition work,” said the Brookings Institution’s nonresident Senior Fellow Kathryn Dan Tempus, who is tracking the issue, writes.
CNN’s Phil Mattingly contributed to this report.
Source: www.cnn.com
