Senate Dems brace for Harris cabinet shuffle
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Vice President Kamala Harris speak to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in December 2023. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A few Senate Democrats are rumored to be in the running for top posts under a potential Harris administration, with the party bracing for a reshuffled Cabinet, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The makeup of her potential cabinet presents Vice President Kamala Harris with the chance to immediately differentiate herself from President Biden's White House.
- Democrats don't expect many Cabinet holdovers from the Biden administration, and party strategists point to the Senate as an enticing pool of talent, according to conversations with a dozen senior Democratic sources and strategists.
- But poaching lawmakers from the chamber could be complicated by the partisan makeup of the Senate and the challenges of getting them confirmed.
- Harris is expected to put together a Cabinet and West Wing that is younger and includes more people of color than Biden's administration, Axios reported this morning.
The intrigue: Names that have been floated for top Cabinet positions in years past are resurfacing.
- Democratic strategists tell Axios that Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) could be options for secretary of state. Both men have deep experience in foreign affairs during their Senate tenures.
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is a popular name floated for attorney general. She and Harris have a personal relationship dating back to their times as state attorneys general in neighboring states.
- Democrats also point to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) as a top candidate to lead the Defense Department. Reed is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee.
- Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) has also been floated for posts at the Departments of Education or Interior.
Yes, but: Harris is unlikely to pillage the Senate Democratic caucus in such wide numbers for her cabinet.
- Senate Democrats are likely to be in the minority in 2025. Harris is unlikely to complicate that math any further.
- Pulling certain people from the Senate could flip a seat red. Cortez Masto's replacement would be appointed by Nevada's governor, a Republican.
- Harris has shallow roots on Capitol Hill, not even serving a full term in the chamber.
The bottom line: The outcome of Senate races in November will determine how willing Harris would be to tap senators for administration positions if she wins.
- For confirmation reasons, Harris could be expected to lean into senators and former senators if Republicans take the Senate.
