Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is on President-elect Joe Biden’s short list for transportation secretary, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Emanuel is a divisive figure both inside and out of the Democratic Party, with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanding in early November that Biden not appoint him to a cabinet position. Emanuel is also an Obama administration alumnus, having served as the 44th president’s chief of staff.
“Someone like Rahm Emanuel would be a pretty divisive pick,” Ocasio-Cortez said, according to the New York Times. “And it would signal, I think, a hostile approach to the grass-roots and the progressive wing of the party.”
“We must govern with integrity and accountability. Laquan McDonald’s life mattered,” She added, referencing the 2014 police shooting that occurred in Chicago under Emanuel’s administration.
We must govern with integrity and accountability. Laquan McDonald’s life mattered. https://t.co/wDlIVe5zPl
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 9, 2020
Emanuel is only one of several candidates Biden is reportedly considering, however. Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller. (RELATED: Trump Lawyer Says New Wisconsin Lawsuit ‘Won’t Change’ Biden’s Electoral Win)
Biden has made significant progress in fleshing out his cabinet in recent days, announcing his full foreign policy team before Thanksgiving. He plans to nominate long-time aide Tony Blinken to secretary of state, diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield to ambassador to the United Nations, and Jake Sullivan, another long-time aide, to national security advisor.
Biden’s cabinet nominees are not guaranteed their positions, however, as Republicans are likely to control the Senate when Biden takes office. Republicans currently hold 50 seats and Democrats 48, with the remaining two up in the air with runoff elections in Georgia. Republicans are favored in both races, however.