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Appointments and Nominations

The Biden Transition announced four more White House senior staff appointees on Friday.

Mala Adiga, policy director to Jill Biden

Adiga worked on the 2008 Obama and 2020 Biden presidential campaigns. She held several positions in the Obama administration, including deputy assistant secretary for state for academic programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and chief of staff in the secretary of state’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. She was also director for higher education and military families at the Biden Foundation.

Carlos Elizondo, White House social secretary

Elizondo worked in the Obama administration as a special assistant to the president and social secretary to the Bidens. He also worked in the Clinton administration at both the White House and in the Office of the U.S. Chief of Protocol. Outside of government service, Elizondo has worked as a top events official at Georgetown University and Walt Disney World.

Cathy Russell, director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel

Russell is a former U.S. ambassador for global women’s issues. She worked in the Obama administration and was a vice chair of the Biden presidential campaign. She also served as a senior advisor on international women’s issues on the Senate Foregin Relation Committees and an associate deputy attorney general.

Louis Terrell, director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs

Terrell worked in the Obama administration as a special assistant to the president for legislative affairs and held several positions on Capitol Hill. In addition to government service, Terrell has worked at McKinsey & Company, the Biden Foundation, Yahoo!, and Facebook. She currently manages legislative affairs for the Biden Transition.

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News

• Biden is expected to begin announcing his Cabinet selections this week, beginning with nominating former deputy secretary of state Tony Blinken for secretary of state on Tuesday. Biden is also set to nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield for the Cabinet-level position of U.N. ambassador and Jake Sullivan for national security adviser. Thomas-Greenfield has served in diplomatic posts for more than 30 years. Sullivan is one of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s top strategic advisers. 

• NPR reported that Obama’s final Supreme Court justice nominee, Merrick Garland, is in consideration for attorney general. The short list also includes former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.).

• Biden Transition senior adviser Jen Psaki said on Sunday that the team preferred to use public pressure rather than legal action to encourage the General Services Administration to ascertain the election results and open up access to funding, background checks, and other resources.

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What We're Reading

• The Atlantic: The World’s Most Important Videoconference: How can Joe Biden build a government remotely during a pandemic?
• The Wall Street Journal: Biden Team Lacks Full U.S. Cybersecurity Support in Transition Fracas
• The Washington Post: Biden’s transition teams mix centrists and progressives. But keep an eye on this obscure White House office.