President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Susan Rice to run the incoming administration’s White House Domestic Policy Council, according to Politico.
Rice, an ambassador and former National Security Adviser for former President Barack Obama's administration, was rumored to be on Biden's shortlist for vice president earlier this year. Although the Domestic Policy Council isn’t a Senate-confirmed position, the president-elect has tried to find a way to offer the esteemed politician a high-ranking placement in his administration. Rice’s experience in politics is aligned with foreign policy, so the domestic policy role comes as a surprise to some.
According to the Associated Press, Rice will oversee
immigration policies, health care and racial inequality and elevate the White House’s prominence.
The Washington D.C. native also held a position in former President Bill Clinton’s cabinet as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House, according to American University. Additionally, she serves as the university’s Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow at the School of International Service.
As a permanent U.S. delegate to the United Nations, Rice played a pivotal role in advancing U.S. interests, defending universal values, strengthening the world's security and prosperity and promoting respect for human rights.
The decorated politician also served as the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs from 1997 to 2001. She created and implemented U.S. policy towards 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and oversaw 43 U.S. Embassies and more than 5,000 U.S. and Foreign Service national employees.
Rice graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University in 1986, and she also holds Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Oxford University in philosophy.
Biden is also tapping into other former members of the Obama administration, the publication reported.
He has nominated Denis McDonough, former President Obama’s chief of staff, as the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The president-elect is scheduled to make the formal announcements on Friday. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) was nominated to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Katherine Tai as U.S. Trade Representative and Tom Vilsack as the Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack filled that same role during Obama’s two terms.
“The roles they will take on are where the rubber meets the road — where competent and crisis-tested governance can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives, enhancing the dignity, equity, security, and prosperity of the day-to-day lives of Americans,” Biden said in a statement.
