Unless you have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, then you will know that president Joe Biden has taken his place in the White House. That means that we are in a time period of massive change as the old regime is fizzled out and the new one moves into place. Part of this chain of change surrounds president Biden’s cabinet members that will help him carry out his plans over the next four years. While president Biden has nominated the members that will be part of his cabinet, not all of them have been confirmed by the senate. At the time of writing, only three of them have been confirmed, and that is what I am here to talk about today. In this article I will be presenting a little bit about each of the confirmed cabinet members, that way you get to know a little bit about their background as they settle into their positions.
Avril Haines — Director Of National Intelligence
First off we have Avril Haines. She has taken up the position as the Director of National Intelligence, with her confirmation being announced on January 20, 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position in the nation’s history. The vote for her confirmation was 84–10. Haines was born on August 29, 1969, making her 51 years old at this time. Her father was an author, a scientist, and a professor. Her mother was a painter, though she passed when Haines was 15 years old. After she finished high school, Haines had a rather adventurous life. This included going to Japan to learn martial arts, studying theoretical physics at the University of Chicago, and even building and flying her own plane. In the 1990s, her and her husband ran their own independent bookstore and cafe. It was not until she was in her 30s that she graduated Georgetown Law School with a degree. That is when she got into government. After working in the State Department, she moved up to being a part of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This is where she first met president Biden. After that, she moved to the White House, serving as part of the National Security council. In 2013, she was made the deputy director of the CIA, despite never working in that agency before that point. She was the first woman to hold this position in history. Now, she is getting settled into her new role, and we will just have to wait and see what steps she takes in her journey from here on out.
Lloyd Austin — U.S. Defense Secretary
Next on the confirmation list is Lloyd Austin, as he steps into the position of U.S. Defense Secretary. The confirmation vote was 93–2. He was born on August 8, 1963, making him 67 years old. He has 5 siblings, a wife, and two step-sons. Austin graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1975. This would kick off his wildly successful 41 year long military career. He started out as a rifle platoon leader in the 7th Infantry Division. In 2003, he served as the assistant division commander for the 3rd Infantry Division during the Iraq invasion. Then he led as commander of the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. After that he would become part of the Airborne Corps. He was the first African American person to lead a division, corps, and field army in combat. And now, he is stepping in as the first African American to hold the Secretary of Defense position.
Janet Yellen — Secretary Of The Treasury
The last confirmation that we have to talk about today is the new Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. Yellen was born on August 13, 1946, making her 74 years old right now. She is the first woman to hold this position in the government. The vote for her confirmation was 84–15. She has one brother, a husband, and one son. Yellen has carved out a very successful life for herself. It started back in 1967, when she graduated with a degree in economics from Brown University. She then followed that up by getting a PHD in economics from Yale University in 1971. She would then teach as an assistant professor at Harvard University until 1976. After that she served as an economist on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors until 1978. Over the next few decades she passed back and forth from teaching at various universities to working on the Federal Reserve Board, as well as being the head of president Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 until 1999. In 2010, she was made vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Fed. Four years later, she was stepping into the role of head of the Federal Reserve System, the first woman to do so. Now we are back to the present, where she has stepped into her new role as the Secretary of the Treasury.
I hope you all enjoyed learning a little bit about these new members of our nation’s government. Just to be clear, not all members have been confirmed by the senate at this time, so look out for the rest of the votes. On that note, have a good weekend everyone.
