Audio Reveals Heated Exchange Between Biden And Black Leaders Over Cabinet, Police Reform - Forbes

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Topline

President-elect Joe Biden had a contentious discussion about executive power, police reform and his cabinet appointments in a call with civil rights leaders on Tuesday, according to leaked audio excerpts of the call published by The Intercept.

Key Facts

The civil rights leaders on the call, including Rev. Al Sharpton and the NAACP’s Sherrilyn Ifill, pressed Biden to use executive orders to institute sweeping reforms, create commissions and launch investigations to further the cause of civil rights.

But Biden said he would not test the legal bounds of executive action and use it in lieu of legislation, stating “I am not going to violate the constitution,” and arguing unfettered use of executive orders can set a dangerous precedent for future administrations.

Biden instead played up his legislative bona fides, fiercely asserting, “I don’t carry around a stamp on my head saying ‘progressive’ and ‘I’m AOC,’ but I have more of a record of getting things done in the United States Congress than anybody you know.”

Biden also advocated turning down the rhetoric on police reform ahead of the Senate runoffs in Georgia – which will determine control of the Senate and greatly impact his ability to confirm nominees – arguing the GOP “beat the living hell out of us” during the election with the “defund the police” movement.

NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson cautioned Biden against picking Tom Vilsack to reprise his role as Secretary of Agriculture – a nomination announced Thursday – pointing to Vilsack’s widely-criticized firing of Georgia director of rural development Shirly Sherrod in 2010 over out-of-context remarks as an example of how his appointment could hurt Democrats with black voters in Georgia.

“Let’s get something straight, you shouldn’t be disappointed,” Biden said of complaints about his cabinet, claiming he has done “more than anybody else has done so far” to bring diversity to his incoming administration.

Forbes has reached out to the Biden transition team for comment.

Chief Critic

“We don’t care about throwing fists in the air and the symbols. We want the substance. The Joe Biden I know is substance. The Kamala Harris I know is substance,” Sharpton, an MSNBC host, said on the call. “We need it now more than ever, and I would hope on the first day you start doing things with your executive orders to restore some dignity to law enforcement in our community and to voting.”

Surprising Fact

Biden’s cabinet nominees, if confirmed, would represent a number of firsts for the federal government. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen would be the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin would be the first African American to lead the Pentagon, Alejandro Mayorkas would be the first Hispanic American to be Secretary of Homeland Security and Marcia Fudge would be the first Black woman to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Neera Tanden would also be the first woman of color to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Avril Haines would be the first female Director of National Intelligence and Cecilia Rouse would be the first woman to chair the Council of Economic Advisers.

What To Watch For

Whether Biden is able to get some of his more controversial nominees – like Tanden, who has vocally criticized Republican lawmakers, and Austin, who needs a waiver as a recently retired member of the U.S. military – will hinge in large part on whether Democrats prevail in Georgia and attain a slim Senate majority. But even in that instance, Biden will have little room for error at just a 50-50 split with Harris as the tiebreaker, meaning he will have to keep the Democratic caucus together on any vote in which he cannot win over Republicans.

Tangent

The fact that Harris’ status as vice president-elect is the only things giving Democrats a chance at a Senate majority has proved a rhetorical minefield for Republicans, who have largely stood by Trump and refused to recognize Biden as president-elect. On Thursday, Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement that “control of the U.S. Senate is at stake” in the runoffs, a tacit acknowledgment of Biden’s victory.