# Let's name a Biden Cabinet **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040 "2020-11-08T05:34:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/141 "2020-11-25T12:48:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Historic pick! Biden has the first former president to sit on the cabinet, having named a Blinken as SOS Groan! ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/142 "2020-11-25T13:12:24Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > The question is (assuming Rs win or split the Georgia seats) whether McConnell will allow them to come to a vote. I think he will, keeping his gunpowder dry for bigger fights over legislation and judicial nominees. If he doesn’t, I wonder if Biden and Pelosi will use the force the senate into recess maneuver, assuming the Democrats don’t win the Georgia senate seats. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/143 "2020-11-25T14:30:53Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Historic pick! Biden has the first former president to sit on the cabinet, having named a Blinken as SOS. I’m really sorry, but now we’re going to have to have you killed. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/144 "2020-11-25T18:13:57Z")
I’m pretty sure Blinken is the first cabinet member to have songs on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ZWgy4Riyzr0QtvcIKiZmF). And yes, he does perform as Ablinken. Stephen Colbert gave him a shoutout for this and it’s been fun watching the numbers go up since then. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/145 "2020-11-25T19:01:16Z")
[[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/au6bSX3.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/Dqov2V2) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/146 "2020-11-25T20:57:56Z")
Well I coulda said Biden was Winkin’ at Blinken and gave him the Nod. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/147 "2020-11-26T09:04:23Z")
Some people here have suggested Preet Bharara for Attorney General. I quite like him, myself. But the Attorney General is 7th [in the line of Presidential succession](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession), and Bharara was not born in the United States, thereby disqualifying him to hold the office of President. Is there a requirement that an officeholder in line for the Presidency be qualified to be the President? Yes, I know, if we’re somehow rapidly burning through six levels of Presidential succession, we likely would have bigger problems to consider (multinational nuclear war? a pandemic which is orders of magnitude worse than COVID-19?, widespread effective armed insurrection? alien invasion?) But I would argue then that if any of those unlikely catastrophic situations might occur, the last thing we want to be talking about is “is this guy who claims to be President really Constitutionally qualified to be President?” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/148 "2020-11-26T12:20:09Z")
> [@Hoops](#): > > Some people here have suggested Preet Bharara for Attorney General. I quite like him, myself. > > But the Attorney General is 7th [in the line of Presidential succession](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession), and Bharara was not born in the United States, thereby disqualifying him to hold the office of President. Is there a requirement that an officeholder in line for the Presidency be qualified to be the President? No. This came up when Albright was serving under Clinton, for example (and, famously, Kissinger before her, under Nixon and Ford). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/149 "2020-11-26T14:20:23Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Well I coulda said Biden was Winkin’ at Blinken and gave him the Nod. As my wife often tells me, “Don’t quit your day job!” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/150 "2020-11-26T19:55:25Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@Hoops](#): > > > > Some people here have suggested Preet Bharara for Attorney General. I quite like him, myself. > > > > But the Attorney General is 7th [in the line of Presidential succession](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_line_of_succession), and Bharara was not born in the United States, thereby disqualifying him to hold the office of President. Is there a requirement that an officeholder in line for the Presidency be qualified to be the President? > > No. This came up when Albright was serving under Clinton, for example (and, famously, Kissinger before her, under Nixon and Ford). And Taiwan-born Elaine Chao, the current Secretary of Transportation. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/151 "2020-11-27T21:28:35Z")
So Anthony Blinken’s stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was multibillionaire fraudster Robert Maxwell (the father of Ghislaine Maxwell)'s lawyer. A post I saw on Twitter today, with no verification, says that Pisar was the last person to see Maxwell alive before he “fell off” his yacht and drowned. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/152 "2020-11-28T00:10:09Z")
rumor has it Mrs. Clinton wants a cabinet job. I would think Biden would offer her one to keep her and Bill happy. Maybe commerce, transportation, labor or some other smaller department. She’s not getting state or treasury or UN ambassador. She could get ambassador to big place like UK,France,Spain, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/153 "2020-11-28T00:49:09Z")
I would be surprised if Hillary Clinton pursued or accepted any cabinet job, since she already was secretary of state. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/154 "2020-11-28T00:51:11Z")
Yeah, I don’t think this ‘rumor’ has any merit. It doesn’t appear Hillary Clinton has any desires to be in the Biden Cabinet. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/155 "2020-11-28T00:59:10Z")
I give this about a 0.1% probability of happening. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/156 "2020-11-28T01:07:35Z")
Something I’ve seen thrown around is letting someone like Toomey name a position. I’m skeptical he would be agreeable to that, but another dem senator could be huge depending on how Georgia goes and if Manchin or Sinema don’t play ball. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/157 "2020-11-28T02:17:36Z")
I think this is extremely unlikely. Toomey is a dyed-in-the-wool conservative and a Republican Party stalwart. Why would he make it easier for Democrats to pass legislation he would hate and burn every bridge he has built in the conservative movement just so he could be Secretary of Commerce for a couple years? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/158 "2020-11-28T02:27:05Z")
He’s retiring, the GOP is now a cult of personality, and maybe his wife wants to live in Paris for 4 years. I think you’re right that it’s unlikely, but I think it’d be a good idea to ask. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/159 "2020-11-28T03:38:04Z")
I suppose it can’t hurt to ask, but he genuinely, sincerely opposes almost everything that Biden believes in. Toomey’s no moderate who might be ideologically comfortable serving in a center-left administration. And if he goes to Paris for 4 years he better be prepared to stay there. It’ll be preferable to the white-hot fury he’ll encounter from every Republican colleague and friend he’s made throughout his political career. Just for giggles, I looked at all of the states with Democratic Governors and Republican Senators. By my count it’s LA, NC, PA, KY, WI, ME. Only Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Maine allow the Governor to name a replacement to a Senate vacancy without restriction. North Carolina requires the Governor to choose from a list of three candidates drawn up to by the outgoing Senator’s party. Louisiana allows a temporary governor appointment until a special election, and Wisconsin just goes straight to the special elections. Maybe Susan Collins could be bought off with a Cabinet post? But she’s riding high after stomping to victory in a race no one thought she would win. Other options are thin. Bill Cassidy for HHS Secretary? God help us. Rand Paul for Federal Reserve Chairman? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-name-a-biden-cabinet/925040/160 "2020-11-28T03:42:37Z")
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