President-elect Joe Biden introduced several more of his picks to join his cabinet during a press conference from his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware on Friday.
Among those introduced, Friday was Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to head up the Department of Labor. Biden praised Walsh's close union ties and his support of union labor in his time as mayor.
Biden added that he chose to nominate Walsh despite giving "serious consideration" to nominating Sen. Bernie Sanders for the role. However, Biden said that after Democrats won a slim majority in Congress with two runoff victories in Georgia on Tuesday, Sanders volunteered to remain in the Senate so as not to jeopardize the party's majority.
Biden added that he would continue to work closely with Sanders when it comes to matters of labor rights.
Biden also introduced Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo to lead the Commerce Department. Biden lauded her work in the private sector as an innovative venture capitalist as well as her work as her state's first female governor.
Biden also said that he will nominate Don Graves to serve as Deputy Sec. of the Commerce Department.
Finally, Biden said he would nominate Isabel Guzman of California to run the Small Business Administration. Guzman is a veteran of the department, having served there as the department head’s chief of staff during the Obama administration. She’s also held a similar position at the state level in California.
In addition to introducing his picks for top economic positions, Biden also teased an address next week in which he would formally announce his plan to introduce another COVID-19 stimulus package upon taking office. He said his plan would focus on small business owners, particularly those owned by minorities and women.
He also lauded a recent round of stimulus that sent $600 stimulus checks to most Americans, but called the plan "a down payment." He also floated a plan that would send $2,000 checks to all Americans.
On Thursday, Biden introduced his picks to run the Justice Department, adding that those nominees would not need to pledge loyalty to him, but to the people of the United States and the rule of law. He also laid the blame for Wednesday’s riot at the Capitol building on outgoing President Donald Trump but did not call for his immediate removal from office as other top Democrats have done.
