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Biden adds Buttigieg and top Obama admin officials to transition team

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden during the first Democratic presidential debate in 2019 in Miami, Florida. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden added former 2020 rival Pete Buttigieg, former National Security Adviser Susan Rice, other Obama administration officials, politicians and advisers to his transition team on Saturday.

The big picture: Many of the new appointees worked directly for Biden in the previous administration. Joining Ted Kaufman and Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) as co-chairs if the former vice president is elected will be New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), Biden campaign adviser Anita Dunn and former Obama economic adviser Jeffrey Zients.

  • Among those to serve on the 15-person advisory board if Biden were successful would be Buttigieg, Rice, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates and former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy — who's advised the Biden campaign "on policy and campaign tactics" during the coronavirus pandemic, CNN notes.

What they're saying: "We are preparing for this transition amid the backdrop of a global health crisis and struggling economy," Kaufman said in an emailed statement. "This is a transition like no other, and the team being assembled will help Joe Biden meet the urgent challenges facing our country on day one."

  • The Biden campaign said in a statement his transition and administration to follow would prioritize as core values "diversity of ideology and background; talent to address society's most complex challenges; integrity and the highest ethical standards to serve the American people and not special interests; and transparency to garner  trust at every stage."
"Alongside the co-chairs, each advisory board member has been asked to provide counsel to the transition team as it plans to respond to the major crises the country is facing — particularly the public health crisis and the recession."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from the Biden campaign.

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