AOC 'Squad' member says hearing of these two possible Biden Cabinet picks 'makes my skin crawl'
He said Biden ought to be 'picking as many progressives to his cabinet as possible'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., on Thursday said he was satisfied with some of President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet picks, but others made his “skin crawl.”
Bowman, considered one of the newest additions to the “Squad” of 2018 freshman congresswomen, made the comments during an appearance on "CNN Newsroom."
The Democratic congressman-elect said gender and racial diversity in Biden’s administration were important, but “ideological diversity” was key.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We need to make sure here that President-elect Joe Biden is picking as many progressives to his cabinet as possible,” Bowman said.
Asked whether he was satisfied with the progressive credentials of Biden’s choices so far, Bowman said he supported the nominations of former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary and John Kerry for special presidential envoy for climate.
“But when I hear names like Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed, you know, it makes my skin crawl,” Bowman said. “Rahm Emanuel covered up the murder of Laquan McDonald as Mayor in Chicago. He closed elementary schools. He closed mental health institutions.”
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He added: “Bruce Reed is a deficit hawk and a master of austerity budgets. So, we cannot have anyone like that in the Biden cabinet, especially as we deal with the coronavirus and as we deal with an economic depression and racial reckoning in our time.”
Emanuel, the former mayor of Chicago and a former Obama official, is reportedly under consideration for transportation secretary or U.S. trade representative. In 2014, Emanuel was accused of engaging in a coverup to bury police camera footage after an officer-involved shooting of a Black teenager.
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Reed, meanwhile, is Biden’s former chief of staff and has been mulled as a potential pick to serve as the head of the Office of Management and Budget. Under President Obama, he oversaw the Bowles-Simpson commission to recommend cuts for fiscal sustainability. Progressives criticized the commission because its final plan called for cuts and reform to Medicare and Social Security.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.