WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday announced six new White House staff members who will serve under Susan Rice, the director of his Domestic Policy Council, charging them with coordinating with federal agencies to help implement his early domestic policy agenda.The hires include four deputy directors of the Domestic Policy Council, a special assistant and a deputy assistant. Focus areas include racial justice and equity, immigration, health care, veterans affairs, economic mobility and economic mobility.More:Trump impeachment sets up politically perilous Senate trial, possibly threatening Joe Biden's agendaIn a surprise move, Biden last month named Rice – a former ambassador to the United Nations and then as his national security adviser under President Barack Obama – to lead domestic policy efforts. Rice was under consideration as Biden's vice president pick before he picked Sen. Kamala Harris last summer. Among early priorities, Biden has said he will introduce an immigration bill "immediately,” end President Donald Trump's executive orders on environmental issues, and work to tackle the coronavirus pandemic with help from Congress and by implementing a plan to aggressively distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.Biden is set to outline his vaccination and economic relief legislative package in a speech Thursday night.More:Live impeachment updates: Donald Trump impeached for ‘incitement’ of mob attack on US CapitolThe staff additions are:Stefanie Feldman, deputy assistant to the president and senior advisor to the director of the Domestic Policy Council. Feldman worked as national policy director for the Biden-Harris campaign and worked in the White House for five years including as Vice President Biden's deputy director for Domestic and Economic Policy.Catherine Lhamon, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Racial Justice and Equity. Lhamon chairs the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and previously served as legal affairs secretary to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Carmel Martin, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Economic Mobility.Martin worked as a senior policy advisor for the Biden campaign. Previously, Martin served as the assistant secretary for policy and budget at the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama-Biden administration and executive vice president for policy at the progressive think tank Center for American Progress.Tyler Moran, special assistant to the president for Immigration for the Domestic Policy Council.Moran previously served as executive director of the Immigration Hub, a project of the Emerson Collective, and senior policy advisor to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.Esther Olavarria, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Immigration. Olavarria, a member of the Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security Agency Review Team, served in the Obama-Biden’s Department of Homeland Security and the White House Domestic Policy Council.Christen Linke Young, deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Health and Veterans Affairs. Young serves as a health policy advisor for the Biden-Harris transition team and was a onetime fellow at the Brookings Institution focused on access to health insurance policy. Young previously worked at the Department of Health and Human Services as a principal deputy director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison. Source link
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