A 1st for Biden’s Cabinet
Meeting convenes to promote plan for infrastructure
Joe Biden will convene his first Cabinet meeting on Thursday, a presidential rite of passage that will be used to promote his new infrastructure plan. The gathering will look different from those held by his predecessor.
To begin with, the full Cabinet won’t meet in the room that bears its name, instead assembling in the more spacious East Room to allow for social distancing. All attendees, including the president, will wear masks.
The timing of the first meeting was deliberate: a week after the full Cabinet was confirmed and a day after Biden was poised to release his infrastructure plan in Pittsburgh.
With the sales blitz for the plan just beginning, the focus of the meeting will be on how the package can help across government, as well on continuing to emphasize the benefits of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill that Biden signed into law this month, said White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates.
Cabinet meetings in the modern era are more about ensuring that all the government agencies are on the same page, say former officials. The sessions also are an opportunity for the president to make his priorities and values clear. Policy debates are generally reserved for smaller, subject-specific gatherings of Cabinet officials and senior advisers.
“As the federal government has become increasingly complex over the years, the role of the Cabinet has evolved as well,” said Chris Lu, President Barack Obama’s first-term Cabinet secretary. “In addition to serious policy discussions, Cabinet meetings are an opportunity for the president to lay out broad directions for how his team should operate.”
“The meetings can help align priorities, build morale, and allow Cabinet members to develop relationships with colleagues who they don’t normally see,” Lu said.
All 16 permanent members of the Cabinet — the vice president and heads of the executive departments, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin — will attend in person. So will other Cabinet-ranked officials, including White House chief of staff Ron Klain and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
Shalanda Young, acting budget head, will attend because Neera Tanden, Biden’s first choice for that job, withdrew her nomination amid Senate opposition.
Biden is also awaiting the confirmation of Eric Lander to be the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a post that the president has elevated to Cabinet rank.