Although the race for the presidency has not been officially called yet, it seems clear which way things are going; Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania (the only state he needs to win 270 electoral college votes) is swelling slowly, but steadily, and he also maintains growing leads in Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
In the absence of a definitive call on the race – and perhaps fueled by the knowledge that Donald Trump is unlikely to acknowledge the reality of defeat – the Biden campaign has been quietly stepping up plans to find and recruit appointees to critical positions in the federal government.
The preparations have been given extra urgency by the fact that, as things stand, Democrats are unlikely to control the U.S. Senate when Biden takes office, which will make confirming these appointees extremely difficult. The Biden team has reportedly brought veterans of the Obama Administration into an unofficial “transition war room” to strategize and prepare for confirmation battles.
Biden’s decades in the Senate and eight years as Vice President has led to him amassing a nebulous circle of advisors, confidants, and political allies that can all be expected to try to influence the make-up of a future Democratic administration. At the same time, the progressive groups who nearly ended Biden’s ambitions during the primary haven’t gone anywhere, and the new president-elect will have to take the demands of the Left seriously – which he is reportedly doing.