Biden Reportedly Considering John Kasich, Jeff Flake for Cabinet Positions
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is reportedly considering several Republicans for Cabinet positions in the event he wins the November election, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake.
Other options include Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and current head of Quibi; former Rep. Charlie Dent (PA); and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, according to a Tuesday report in Politico.
Kasich, the most prominent name on the list, spent nearly two decades in the U.S. House — from 1983 to 2001 — before becoming a frequent Fox News guest and fill-in host. He subsequently served as Ohio’s governor from 2011-19 and ran in the 2016 Republican presidential primary as a vocal critic of then-candidate Donald Trump, but ultimately won just his own home state. He said as recently as November 2018 that he was “seriously considering” a run against Trump in 2020, but opted against it, instead endorsing Biden. In exchange, Democrats granted Kasich a prime speaking slot on the first night of their party’s national convention.
Both of Trump’s predecessors appointed Cabinet members across party lines, particularly for the Transportation Department. President George W. Bush tapped Norman Mineta for the position from 2001-06, while President Barack Obama chose Ray LaHood from 2009-13. Each served as members of the Transportation Committee during previous terms in the House of Representatives, with Mineta serving as chairman.
Some activists expressed their displeasure with the idea of Biden reaching across the aisle. “I don’t understand why someone who says, ‘I am the Democratic Party,’ would then hand benefits to someone who’s not a Democrat,” Jeff Hauser, the director of the the Revolving Door Project, said in a comment to Politico.
It isn’t clear what Cabinet positions any of the individuals who were named might occupy. Dent, who frequently clashed with Trump and once proposed legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from removal, served as the chairman of an appropriations committee on veterans’ affairs prior to his 2018 resignation from the House. Flake focused mostly on issues related to the federal budget.
