President-elect Joe Biden is surrounding himself with familiar faces as he appoints more pivotal administration staff.
Biden named Louisa Terrell on Friday as his incoming White House Office of Legislative Affairs director. Terrell was a legislative affairs special assistant to former President Barack Obama.
Terrell, who was Biden’s deputy chief of staff when he was Delaware’s 36-year senator before she joined New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker as his top aide, will be responsible for helping Biden pass his agenda through a divided Congress. Democrats will have a narrower majority in the House and will only control the Senate if their candidates win both Georgia runoffs on Jan. 5. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will then break any ties.
Picking Terrell, though, rankled Democrats hoping Biden wouldn’t tap staff with deep ties to corporations or with lobbyist backgrounds. Terrell was Facebook’s policy director.
Biden also announced Cathy Russell will be his White House Office of Presidential Personnel director. Russell, who is Biden senior adviser Mike Donilon’s sister-in-law, was Jill Biden’s former chief of staff and a U.S. ambassador for Global Women’s Issues during the last Democratic administration.
Carlos Elizondo, too, will reprise his role as White House social secretary. Elizondo held the same position for the Bidens’ for all eight years of the Obama administration.
Jill Biden added staff to her ranks on Friday as well, appointing Mala Adiga as her policy director.
Biden is expected to ramp up the hiring process next week, hinting Thursday he would name his nominee for Treasury secretary before Thanksgiving.
