Biden weighs Rahm Emanuel for transportation secretary

  • Date: 01-Dec-2020
  • Source: Associated Press
  • Sector:Transport
  • Country:Gulf
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Biden weighs Rahm Emanuel for transportation secretary

CHICAGO (AP) “” President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary. Biden's selection of his nominee to lead the Transportation Department is not believed to be imminent and Emanuel is among multiple candidates in the running for the Cabinet position, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. But his candidacy threatens to pull at the divisions among Democrats that Biden has largely managed to avoid as he begins to fill out his administration. Progressive leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have been especially vocal in criticizing the prospect of Emanuel joining the Cabinet. ADVERTISEMENTEmanuel, a former three-term congressman who served as Barack Obama's first White House chief of staff and was a senior adviser in Bill Clinton's administration, has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. He also turned reviving Chicago's ragged public transportation system and overhauling the city's two busy, worn airports into a top issue during his eight years as mayor. Emanuel is also credited with making Chicago