Defeated Dems eyed by Biden
President-elect weighs adding officials to key roles in administration
DES MOINES, Iowa — In politics, there can sometimes be an upside to losing.
President-elect Joe Biden is eyeing several Democrats who lost congressional reelection races last month for key positions in his administration. They include outgoing Reps. Abby Finkenauer of Iowa and Donna Shalala of Florida and Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama.
Their consideration continues a long Washington tradition of defeated politicians seeking shelter in a new White House. Landing a job in a new administration can both position the losing candidates for future campaigns and provide the incoming president with important relationships on Capitol Hill.
“It’s good to have people who know how to roam the halls of Congress,” said Andrew Card, who directed George W. Bush’s transition and later served as the Republican president’s chief of staff.
Biden’s transition team declined to comment on the prospects of any individual contender for an administration role. He has already unveiled much of his economic and national security team and is expected to announce picks soon for key health positions.
But there are still a large number of major Cabinet positions to be filled, including attorney general and leaders of the Departments of Labor, Commerce and Transportation. As Biden considers his options, his personal connection with some of the defeated lawmakers could carry significance.
Finkenauer, who is under consideration for labor secretary, owes her start in politics in part to Biden. As a college student, she worked on his ill-fated 2008 presidential campaign. A decade later, he headlined a rally for her winning congressional campaign. She was a key surrogate for Biden ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
“I know they have a long relationship, and it’s been mutually supportive,” said former Dubuque Assistant City Manager Teri Goodman, who is a decadeslong Biden supporter and has watched Finkenauer’s rise.
Finkenauer narrowly lost her bid for a second term in a rural northeast Iowa district. But since then, the former state legislator, who made a name promoting public employee unions, has had conversations with senior Biden transition officials about leading the Labor Department, according to Democratic sources familiar with the communications.
Jones is in the mix to lead the Justice Department, partly due to his work as a U.S. attorney who helped convict Ku Klux Klansmen for the Birmingham church bombing that killed four Black girls.
He narrowly won a special Alabama Senate election in 2017 but lost reelection last month. He also has a longstanding personal relationship with Biden dating to Biden’s first presidential campaign in 1988.
Biden spoke at Jones’ campaign kickoff in 2017, saying of Jones, “He knows your heart and will never let you down,” and was the first to telephone him Nov. 3 after he’d lost the seat to Republican Tommy Tuberville.
Shalala is perhaps the most administration-ready of 2020’s losing Democratic class. She spent eight years as secretary of health and human services under President Bill Clinton and then served as president of the University of Miami before winning a south Florida House seat in 2018. She has heard from Biden transition officials.
Beyond the outgoing members of Congress, Biden is also considering his former rivals in the Democratic primary for jobs. He already tapped California Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice president. Biden is weighing roles for Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend, Ind., mayor who mounted a strong campaign in the early stretch of the Democratic primaries.