President-elect Joe Biden is not expected to name any additional Cabinet nominees until 2021, his transition team said Wednesday, as high profile slots such as attorney general and secretary of Labor remain unfilled.
“He is very thoughtful about how he makes the decisions of who he’s going to nominate for the Cabinet and any real personnel decisions, and we believe he deserves the time and space to make those decisions,” incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing with reporters.
“I would think you can expect we won’t have new Cabinet announcements to make until the new year. But that’s the timeline,” she added.
Biden has announced most of his Cabinet picks, but a handful have yet to be named. The most high profile is attorney general. Biden is said to be considering outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones (D) and Judge Merrick Garland, among others.
The president-elect has also yet to announce his choices to lead the Labor and Commerce departments, as well as the CIA.
Biden may be waiting until after the results of the Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia are known. Should Democrats win both races, the upper chamber will be split 50-50 between the GOP and Democratic conferences, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris serving as the decisive vote.
But if Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, it could influence Biden’s picks based on who can be confirmed.