Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Mon Dec 21, 2020 12:32 pm
Let's just say Mayor Pete is an out of work politician that "the Powers" within the Party want to keep visible. He's smart and articulate and won't be "over-age" for '28 or '32 (Kammy likely has "dibs" on '24).
That he is "out of work" means he won't upset any "balance". I think Joe wants his administration to be known as one of "reconciliation", and would have been happy to have Liz in his Cabinet. But if he did, she'd have to resign her Senate seat. Anybody think Mass Republican Governor Baker would be about to appoint a Democrat?
So it's let Pete have a "second tier" seat at the table, where there be enough "photo-ops" both at the WH and whatever transportation infrastructure projects Joe can initiate during his Presidency.
With regard to his resume, or lack thereof, its worth remembering that most of what a Cabinet-level agency head actually *does* involves advocating for his/her Agencies priorities within the context of the broader Government and acting as final signoff and oversight on the people farther down in the bureaucracy-- the career civil servants who do the actual grunt work. It's not as if the Secretary is getting down in the weeds of, say, the engineering specs for a new flyover somewhere south of Chicago.
Elaine Chao has a transportation-related resume as long as my arm. Her (unanimously-confirmed) predecessor was the Mayor of Charlotte, NC.
His predecessor was a career Republican politician from Illinois.
I hate to say that related experience is irrelevant, but lets just say that, like with Ambassadorships, it's not the
most relevant criteria from a political standpoint.