Quartet at top for President

THE Biden administration is trying to confirm a barrierbreaking cabinet that includes the first woman to serve as treasury secretary, the first black defence secretary, the first transgender federal official, the first openly gay man confirmed to a cabinet role and the first Native American cabinet secretary.

If confirmed they will join his record-setting inner circle, with his professor wife, Jill Biden, pledging to be the first First Lady to continue working for a wage and his deputy, Kamala Harris, the first female and also the first black Vice President.

Team Biden includes:

KAMALA HARRIS, 56

After a disappointing turn in the Democratic primary presidential race, the former California attorney general returned to the ticket with a number of firsts, including being the first stepmother to be Vice President-elect.

JILL BIDEN, 69

A literature professor who will return to teaching as well as the education advocacy she championed in her eight years as Second Lady. Dr Biden is a marathon-running grandmother of five who is perhaps the new President’s biggest asset.

HUNTER BIDEN, 50

Mr Biden’s youngest and only surviving son has been open about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, and questions about his dealings with foreign countries while his father was Vice President have dogged Mr Biden, especially since the discovery of a laptop containing compromising emails.

JANET YELLEN, 74

The economist was the first woman to be chair of the Federal Reserve and is on track to become the first female treasury secretary.