More Biden administration execs named; Trump vows continued fight
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President-elect Joe Biden chose more senior aides to lead his administration’s efforts to defeat the coronavirus and rebuild the US economy, and his office confirmed on Sunday he would begin receiving classified briefings that are an essential step toward taking control of national security.
As the Democratic former vice president prepared for his move to the White House, Republican President Donald Trump pledged to maintain his legal fight to overturn the result of the Nov. 3 election even while indicating in comments to Fox News that he was growing resigned to leaving office on Jan. 20.
Biden yesterday began receiving the classified presidential daily briefing after weeks of the Trump administration refusing to provide it. The PDB, as it is known, is the first step toward transfer of responsibility for the most sensitive intelligence to a new administration.
Biden also was expected to announce as soon as yesterday top members of his economic team, a source familiar with the process said. They include several officials with whom Biden worked when serving as vice president to Barack Obama.
Neera Tanden, president of the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, will be named director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Cecilia Rouse, a labor economist at Princeton University, would be named as chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers, the source said.
The picks were initially reported by the Wall Street Journal. The New York Times also reported on Sunday that Brian Deese, who helped lead Obama’s efforts to bail out the automotive industry during the 2009 financial crisis, would head the National Economic Council.
Biden also tapped campaign staff and advisers to lead an all-woman communications team, naming campaign spokesperson Kate Bedingfield as White House communications director and veteran Democratic spokeswoman Jen Psaki as press secretary.