Biden’s A team: key figures pushing the president’s agenda in his first 100 days
Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office consisted largely of his administration’s rush to reverse Donald Trump’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of the national spotlight has fallen on how the new US president has addressed the crisis or which aides have been closely involved in coordinating the federal government’s responses.
But the Biden administration has also had to grapple with immigration policy, a huge infrastructure bill and staging a global climate summit, as well as the fallout from the murder trial of former policeman Derek Chauvin – amid all the other up and downs of daily news cycles.
All of that has pushed Vice-President Kamala Harris and other key aides into the center of the public sphere.
Below are seven key members of the administration who have had an impact on the 46th American president’s first 100 days in office:
Kamala Harris, vice-president
For much of Biden’s tenure, VicePresident Kamala Harris has been closely at the president’s side.
Harris, the first female vice-president and first of African American and Asian heritage, is a regular presence at major bill signings and aides say she is oftentimes in the room or close to the president during big decisions. Given her likely top spot in the jostling to be
Biden’s successor, that is not really a surprise.
During the earliest days of Biden’s presidency, Harris’s portfolio wasn’t entirely clear. She was often the highest-level contact between world leaders and the administration. She has also served as a top surrogate for the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan and its vaccination efforts.
At times, Harris’s at-large portfolio received blowback from Democrats. More recently, Biden assigned Harris to focus on the consequences of an influx of migrants at the southern border. That too has spurred some confusion about her role as aides maintain her job is not to lead the administration on stemming the flow of migrants coming to the US.
Ron Klain, Biden’s chief of staff
Ron Klain has been one of the more public-facing chiefs of staff in recent memory. He is a mainstay interviewee on cable news networks. He can be classified as very online by political junkies and rabid Twitter users. He has also served as one of the administration’s highest-ranking conduitsbetween the White House and the progressive wing of the Democratic party.
Klain has helped shape the administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, drawing on his experience as the Ebola response coordinator during the Obama administration, as well as selling Biden’s infrastructure plan to different blocs in Congress.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security
Alejandro Mayorkas is the first immigrant and Hispanic American to run the Department of Homeland Security. His charge includes not just immigration and border security but also fighting terrorism.
Mayorkas has vowed to improve his department and the federal government’s defenses against hacking. He has warned that domestic extremism “is the single greatest terrorism-related