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President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday he wanted to keep some of his former progressive rivals in the Senate, further reducing the chances of Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders joining his cabinet.
Speaking to NBC News’ Lester Holt in his first interview since the Nov. 3 election, Biden said the two progressive senators – who waged their own unsuccessful campaigns for the presidency – played a key role in helping push through its “very ambitious and very progressive program”.
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“We already have significant representation among the progressives in our administration,” Biden said. “There is nothing really off the table. But there is something critical: getting someone out of the Senate, removing someone from the House, especially an important person, is really a difficult decision that should be taken. “
He continued, “I have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda. And it will take very strong leaders in the House and the Senate to make it happen.”
Biden has unveiled a slew of Cabinet picks over the past few days, from Washington veterans with ties to the administration of former President Barack Obama. If confirmed in their new positions, many of Biden’s candidates would break down gender and race barriers.
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The president-elect’s team includes Antony Blinken, a former foreign policy adviser, for the secretary of state; Ron Klain for the Chief of Staff; and former Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen for the post of Secretary of the Treasury – a post many of Warren’s allies say should go to the Massachusetts senator. (Warren called Yellen an “exceptional choice.”)
Still, Biden fended off criticism that his administration would be Obama’s “third term.”
“This is not Obama’s third term,” he said. “Because we are facing a whole different world from the one we faced in the Obama-Biden administration. President Trump has changed the landscape. It has become America first, America alone. ”
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He also acknowledged that he was open to appointing Republicans – some of whom may have voted for President Trump – into his administration to unify the country.
“We still have a lot of appointments to make,” he said. “I want this country to be united … We cannot maintain this virulent political dialogue.”
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