Joe Biden's US Cabinet: Who's who among the nominees and contenders

Washington, United States - On Wednesday, Biden introduced his one-time Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary.

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has nominated a flurry of members for his Cabinet and White House team, working to fulfil his promise to build an administration that reflects the United States' diversity.

On Wednesday, Biden introduced his one-time Democratic rival Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary.

Here are some important picks as well as top contenders for prominent posts, according to Reuters reporting:

SECRETARY OF STATE: ANTONY BLINKEN

The long-time Biden confidant served as No. 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in President Barack Obama's administration.

TREASURY SECRETARY: JANET YELLEN

The former Federal Reserve chair deepened the central bank's focus on workers and inequality. She has remained active in policy debates at the Brookings Institution think tank since Republican President Donald Trump replaced her as head of the central bank in 2018.

DEFENSE SECRETARY: LLOYD AUSTIN

Austin, who oversaw US forces in the Middle East under Obama, would be the first Black US secretary of defense if the Senate confirms him. He retired in 2016 and would need a waiver from Congress to take the post, as he has been out of the military less than the required seven years.

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: TOM VILSACK

Vilsack, who led the US Department of Agriculture under Obama, was Iowa's governor from 1999 until 2007. He was an early supporter of Biden and an adviser on rural issues during his campaign. Vilsack's return to the USDA is likely to be applauded by Midwestern states that produce the bulk of commodity crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, and prefer him to someone from another region of the country.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: XAVIER BECERRA

The California attorney general was previously a 12-term congressman who played a key role in passing the Affordable Care Act in Congress. As attorney general, he has led a coalition of 20 states defending the program better known as Obamacare, including in a case before the US Supreme Court last month.

HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT: MARCIA FUDGE

Fudge has served in the House of Representatives since 2008. Prior to being elected to Congress, she was mayor of Warrensville Heights, a suburb of Cleveland. If confirmed, Fudge would be the second Black woman to lead HUD, which focuses on federal policy surrounding housing.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: PETE BUTTIGIEG

Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and was one of Biden's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. He could be tasked with overseeing much of Biden's plan to boost infrastructure spending, including building electric vehicle charging stations and boosting spending on high-speed rail.

ENERGY SECRETARY: JENNIFER GRANHOLM

Granholm, 61, served as the first female governor of Michigan, from 2003 to 2011. In 2009, when Biden was vice-president under Obama, she worked with his office on the bailout of auto manufacturers during the Great Recession.

SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: DENIS McDONOUGH

McDonough was the White House chief of staff during Obama's second term. He spent the early part of his career an aide to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, before advising Obama's 2008 presidential campaign on foreign policy and then serving as deputy national security adviser.

HOMELAND SECURITY: ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS

The Cuban-born lawyer will be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the department if confirmed as secretary of homeland security. As head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama, Mayorkas led implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme for "Dreamers" - people who were brought to the United States as children. DACA drew Republican criticism and could lead to Republican opposition to Mayorkas in the Senate.

AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD

Biden's nominee to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is Thomas-Greenfield, who will take on a job that Biden plans to restore to a Cabinet level. She is a Black woman who served as Obama's top diplomat on Africa from 2013 to 2017, leading US policy in Africa south of the Sahara during the West African Ebola outbreak.

UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: KATHERINE TAI

The House Ways and Means Committee lawyer played a key role in negotiating stronger labor provisions with the Trump administration in the new US-Mexico-Canada trade deal. Tai, who will lead trade talks with China, previously worked at the office she will now run, heading China trade enforcement from 2011 to 2014. The Yale- and Harvard-educated Chinese American speaks Mandarin and taught university English for two years in Guangzhou.

WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL DIRECTOR: SUSAN RICE

The experienced national security official has served as US ambassador to the United Nations and as an assistant secretary of state, and was national security advisor during Obama's second term. Rice had been on Biden’s short list as a possible vice-presidential pick or secretary of state.

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION DIRECTOR: ROCHELLE WALENSKY

Walensky, currently the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will take a prominent role in the Biden administration's fight against the coronavirus.

CORONAVIRUS COORDINATOR: JEFF ZIENTS

Zients, an economic adviser touted for his managerial skills, was tapped to save the bungled launch of the Affordable Care Act's website for Obama. Under Biden, he will oversee an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies.

SURGEON GENERAL: VIVEK MURTHY

A physician and former surgeon general, Murthy gained prominence in recent months as co-chairman of Biden's advisory board dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which the president-elect has pledged to make his top priority.

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: NEERA TANDEN

Tanden, president of the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, helped create Obamacare, which Republicans want to demolish.

COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS CHAIR: CECILIA ROUSE

Rouse is a labor economist and dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs whose research has focused on the economics of education and tackling wealth inequality. She was a member of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers from 2009 to 2011.

NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: BRIAN DEESE

The Obama administration veteran helped lead efforts to bail out the automotive industry during the 2009 financial crisis and helped negotiate the landmark Paris climate accord.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: JAKE SULLIVAN

David Cohen - Cohen is a veteran Washington lawyer who specializes in investigating money laundering and suspicious financial activity. During the Obama administration, he served in two top anti-money laundering positions at the US Treasury before becoming deputy director of the CIA.