:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/CQ6JNDRS3ZB2BMGV7V3F33PEAM.jpg)
Biden's top aides unlikely to qualify for relief payments
WASHINGTON – At least one group in America is unlikely to get any money from President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic rescue plan — his own top aides. Most of Biden’s senior West Wing advisers made far more than the threshold that would qualify them for direct payments from the president’s COVID-19 relief bill, according to White House financial disclosure forms released Saturday. Others in the West Wing — whose positions don't require Senate confirmation — have had deep ties to the business world. He was listed as having a salary of $1.8 million, according to his disclosure form. Brian Deese, head of the national economic council, was previously global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, according to his disclosure.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/H4MBJXKGVBDAZNBO3HTZZKIBDI.jpg)
'Democracy prevailed': Biden aims to unify divided nation
President-elect Joe Biden speaks after the Electoral College formally elected him as president, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. Democracy, Biden said, has been “pushed, tested, threatened.” But he said it proved to be “resilient, true, and strong.”“The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago,” Biden said. But the challenge facing Biden was evident as many congressional Republicans, including some of the party's top leaders, refused to officially accept Biden's win. The younger Biden said in a statement last week that he just recently learned that he was under investigation. Biden's deputy chief of staff, Jen O’Malley Dillon, downplayed the notion that the investigation could hamper Biden’s ability to pursue his agenda.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/5UDMBV3TFFCCRGUVAY2L2NWTAA.jpg)
Biden filling top White House team with campaign veterans
President-elect Joe Biden has announced top White House staff positions, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)ATLANTA – President-elect Joe Biden announced a raft of top White House staff positions on Tuesday, drawing from the senior ranks of his campaign and some of his closest confidants to fill out an increasingly diverse White House leadership team. Richmond will leave his Louisiana congressional seat to fill the White House job. Late last week, Biden tapped former senior campaign adviser Ron Klain to serve as his chief of staff. She is a veteran political operative who worked on both of Barack Obama’s White House bids.