We are back after a quick hiatus! Enjoy our special post-election edition.
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Contents
The Political Transition Amidst COVID-19
A Few of Biden’s Potential Cabinet Picks
Georgia Has a New Favorite Color
What if Trump Doesn’t Concede?
Immigrant Resistance Turned Arizona Blue
The Resurgence of Critical COVID-19 Rates
Justice in the News
The Political Transition Amidst COVID-19
Trump exacerbates the COVID-19 health crisis by refusing to accept the election result
DACA is restored as the court determines former DHS Head served illegally
Widespread uneasiness spreads among US Intelligence Officials facing removal by Trump
National Security Adviser ensures a smooth transition of Presidential power
A Few of Biden’s Potential Cabinet Picks
There are a lot of names being thrown around for potential cabinet picks for the Biden Administration so we decided to compile some of the top names here for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, HHS, Housing & Urban Development, and Labor!
Secretary of Agriculture
Marcia Fudge: The US Representative for Ohio’s 11th District (2008-present) who serves on the House Agriculture committee and whose main platforms include improving access to healthy foods.
Cheri Bustos: The US Representative for Illinois’s 17th District (2013-present) who serves on the House Agriculture Committee and has helped pass a bipartisan Farm Bill to provide farmers with increased support.
Amy Klobuchar: The first female US Senator from Minnesota (2007-present) who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and helped pass the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill to strengthen Minnesota’s rural economy.
Heidi Heitkamp: The first female US Senator from North Dakota (2013-2019) who is known controversially in the agriculture arena for her support of fossil fuels and corporate agribusiness.
Secretary of Commerce
Meg Whitman: Republican, CEO of Quibi, and former CEO of eBay and Hewlett-Packard.
Terry McAuliffe: Former Governor of Virginia (2014-2018), ex-chair of the Democratic National Committee, and former banker and investor.
Mellody Hobson: Co-CEO of Ariel Investments, former chairwoman of DreamWorks animation, and current JP Morgan board member.
Secretary of Education
Lily Eskelsen Garcia: Elementary school teacher and former president of the National Education Association.
Randi Weingarten: President of the American Federation of Teachers, former president of New York City’s AFT Local 2, and former high school history teacher.
Linda Darling-Hammond: Stanford professor of Education and president and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute, who led Obama’s education policy transition team.
Jahana Hayes: The first Black democratic congresswoman from Connecticut, US Representative for Connecticut’s 5th District (2019-present), and 2016 National Teacher of the Year.
Secretary of Energy
Ernest Moniz: Former Secretary of Energy under the Obama administration and American nuclear physicist who has ties to the fossil fuel industry.
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall: Former Deputy Secretary of Energy under the Obama administration (2014-2017) and ex-chief advisor on foreign and defense policy for Senator Biden.
Arjun Majumdar: Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy and former Acting Under Secretary of Energy (2011-2012).
Dan Reicher: Former assistant secretary of energy under the Clinton administration and ex-director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Michelle Grisham: Current governor of New Mexico (2019-present), former US Representative for New Mexico’s 1st district (2013-2019), and former Secretary of Health of New Mexico (2004-2007).
Vivek Murthy: Co-chair of the COVID-19 Advisory Board and former Surgeon General under the Obama administration (2014-2017).
Mandy Cohen: Secretary of the North Carolina Department of HHS (2017-present) and ex-COO at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Obama administration.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Karen Bass: The US Representative for California’s 37th congressional district (2013-present), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and former speaker of the California assembly.
Alvin Brown: The first Black mayor of Jacksonville, Florida (2011-2015) and former senior advisor for Urban Policy for Vice President Al Gore.
Diana Yentel: President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and former director of the Public Housing Management and Occupancy Division at HUD.
Keisha Lance Bottoms: Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, and former judge and City Councilmember in Atlanta who is focused on equity and affordable housing.
Secretary of Labor
Marty Walsh: Mayor of Boston (2014-present), former Laborers’ Union Local 223 President, and former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1997-2014)
Bernie Sanders: US Senator from Vermont (2007-present), former US Representative for Vermont (1991-2007), and longest-serving independent in US congressional history.
Andy Levin: The US Representative for Michigan’s 9th district (2019-present) who created and ran Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind Initiative.
Seth Harris: Former US Deputy Secretary of Labor and ex-chair of America’s Labor, Employment and Workplace Policy Committee under the Obama Administration.
Sources:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/07/joe-biden-cabinet-picks-possible-choices-433431#6
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/biden-cabinet.html
Georgia Has a New Favorite Color
On November 21st, Georgia certified Biden as their presidential candidate elect after performing a hand count. Biden won by a slim margin of 12,670 votes, making him the first Democrat presidential candidate to win the state since 1992. Pundits credited Stacy Abrams and other Black female activists/politicians with turning Georgia blue. The victory is also viewed as payback for Abrams, who lost a controversial gubernatorial election back in 2018 by a small margin.
How did Georgia turn blue?
Abrams started her recruitment back in 2013 by launching a non-profit, the New Georgia Project
Abrams and company registered over 800,000 new Georgia voters, the majority being young and minorities
Most of Biden’s votes came from counties surrounding the Atlant region, such as Gwinnett and Cobb counties – two of the most populated counties in the state
Many credit the paradigm shift to Atlanta’s demographic landscape rapidly changing, as more BIPOC and young people migrate to the region
Why this is important:
Abrams strategy may have unlocked a new method for Democrats to expand their platform in other red states that are slowly turning blue, like Texas
If Democrats show out again as they did for the presidential election, all eyes will be on the two US Senate run-offs happening on January 5th to take control of the Senate.
There’s additionally speculation that Abrams will run again for governor in 2022 to reclaim a race to which she never conceded due to voter suppression.
Overall, Georgia turning blue may have long term implications for Democrats and demonstrated the power of voting amongst young and minority voters, especially Black women. It will be pivotal for the party to tap into these demographics with other red/swing states they hope to capture in future elections.
What if Trump Doesn’t Concede?
There have been lingering feelings of uncertainty about the peaceful and smooth transaction of power to the new presidential administration.
What happens if President Donald Trump never concedes?
In short, conceding is only a customary and traditional aspect of the presidency
Trump doesn't have to concede in order for President-elect Joe Biden to enter the office
What if the election is contested?
Congress would potentially enact a Presidential Succession Act, which will allow for Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the house to run the country for the time being
The history behind this: President Harry Truman established the first Presidential Succession Act in 1947
Consequences of a non-peaceful transfer:
The Trump administration has the legal right to pension and file suits for vote recounts
Withholding information to the current president-elect (Biden) is a breach of national security
The transition process could be slowed down and hold the country back in all aspects of governing and leadership if the current administration does not cooperate with the sharing of federal and official documentation
To ease potential frustration or worry you might be having, it is important to note in past history during the Civil War, Spanish Flu, and even the Great Depression, the United States has never delayed an election.
Immigrant Resistance Turned Arizona Blue
Arizona’s Latinx community has been working for years politicizing its population after a deep series of anti-immigrant sentiment in Arizona. A democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won the state in more than 20 years.
What fueled unprecedented Latinx political participation in Arizona?
Anti-immigrant state laws such as SB. 1070 passed in 2010
The “show me your papers” provision invited racial profiling of Latinos and others who may look or sound “foreign”.
Continued discrimination from Joe Arpaio, the right-wing Maricopa county sheriff who was convicted of criminal contempt to court for continuing to detain and racial profile Latinos in Arizona even after SB 1070 was ruled unconstitutional.
He was pardoned by Donald Trump in 2017.
However, this years-long crusade against immigrants had an unintended consequence that backfired– it cultivated and politicized an entire generation of Latinos who helped build a grassroots movement that would eventually transform the state’s politics. Many grassroots organizations such as Unite Here and LUCHA continue to work relentlessly to make sure this sleeping giant stays awake by knocking on thousands of doors to ensure the Latinx population is showing up to the polls.
Latinx make up 23.6 % of eligible voters in Arizona and ⅓ of residents in Maricopa County– which accounts for 60% of Arizona’s vote– are Latinx or Hispanic.
Mexican-Americans made up the vast majority of that election demographic.
Call-to-Action
The Resurgence of Critical COVID-19 Rates
COVID-19 is spreading uncontrollably throughout the nation amidst a bitter transition of presidential power. It is critical to understand the importance of social distancing while also accepting the results of the election.
1 minute: Review the WHO website for all pertinent information on COVID-19 transmission.
2 minutes: Assess when and why you interact with others on a weekly basis, see what you can sacrifice to further minimize your exposure risk.
5-10 minutes: Have a conversation with your family or housemates about how you can collectively minimize your in-person contact with others. This could be through fewer trips to the grocery store or anything else that entails less physical interaction.
$ for a good cause: Donate to the Biden Fight Fund
Written by: Namrata Subramanian, Daniele’ Evans, Daisy Flores, Jacob Neel, & Raymond Hurst
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