President-elect Joe Biden loyalists ‘pissed’ as Obama staffers bag top White House posts: 'It's f**ked up'
President-elect Joe Biden's advisers have reportedly claimed that though they helped the 78-year-old win the 2020 election, they have been cut out from top jobs at the White House. With less than two months of Biden’s presidential inauguration, his aides are “pissed” because they believe Barack Obama staffers will get all the important positions.
“The Obama staffers are now cutting out the people who got Biden elected. None of these people found the courage to help the VP when he was running and now they are elevating their friends over the Biden people. It’s f----- up,” a senior Biden official told Politico.
Another adviser stated, “It is a very valid criticism. A lot of people are living in uncertainty,” before noting: “There’s real doubt about whether they will be taken care of. People who were not part of winning the hard-fought primary were placed before people who were part of that.” The adviser also said that people “are pissed.” “I think I’m going to be taken care of but I have not been taken care of yet. I am really interested to find out how you even find out how you got a job in this White House,” they added.
According to reports, it’s quite normal for top aides of the winning candidate to take on top jobs at the White House after the president-elect resumes office. The former vice president’s campaign loyalists including Representative Cedric Richmond of Louisiana and campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon are expected to get important roles at the Oval Office.
In addition, a number of top leaders at WestExec Advisors -- “a consultancy firm filled with Obama administration veterans” -- have also been brought in. Biden has reportedly nominated Avril Haines, an ex-principal to WestExec, for director of national intelligence. While on the other hand, Biden campaign staffers – like communications director Kate Bedingfield and senior adviser Symone Sanders – are yet to receive any title at the new administration.
Meanwhile, a statement from a Biden transition official noted, “The Biden-Harris transition team includes many longtime campaign staff working alongside transition staff who have been laying the groundwork for a smooth transition for months. It is still extremely early in the process of staffing the Biden-Harris Administration and the people who put in the hard work to win will continue to be an integral part of the work moving forward.”
Another report stated that Biden in his first sit-down interview after the election has said that his reign won’t be “a third Obama term”. He spoke with NBC News’s Lester Holt on November 24, and when the host questioned him, “What do you say to those who wonder if you’re trying to create a third Obama term?” Biden responded: “This is not a third Obama term. We face a totally different world than we faced in the Obama-Biden administration,” adding that President Donald Trump has “changed the landscape”.
In addition, Holt asked the president-elect, “Some Democrats want investigations to go to forward against President Trump after he leaves office. Do you support that?” Biden replied: “I will not do what this president does and use the Justice Department as my vehicle to insist that something happen.”