Experts in the News | Miller Center

Biden Picks More Women for Cabinet Than His Predecessors Did

Each president decides which officials are part of the cabinet. For consistency across administrations, Brookings senior fellow Kathryn Dunn Tenpas and research assistant Grant Koehl looked at only the cabinet-level positions in the line of presidential succession and didn’t include certain positions that presidents sometimes give more importance, such as United Nations ambassador, which Mr. Biden has made a cabinet position. The number of cabinet members in the line of succession increased with the addition of the Veterans Affairs Department under former President George H.W. Bush and the Department of Homeland Security under former President George W. Bush, bringing the total to 15.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas

Just how diverse is President Biden’s prospective Cabinet?

Despite the truncated transition brought on by President Trump’s refusal to concede the election and Emily Murphy, administrator of the General Services Administration, also refusing to certify the transition for nearly three weeks—the delay has not affected the pace of President-elect Biden’s appointments. In fact, the Biden transition is well ahead of his seven predecessors. As of Jan. 7, the transition had publicly identified the top 15 Cabinet members. The completion of these highly visible appointments provides the opportunity to compare the relative diversity (in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, and age) of the Biden Cabinet to his six predecessors at the start of their administrations.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas

Joe Biden's Inauguration and the New President's First 100 Days

The unique nature of this year's inauguration and what we can expect from the new president as he takes office in an era defined by the coronavirus pandemic and the struggling economy. Barbara Perry is interviewed.

Barbara Perry

5 Questions About Wednesday’s Unprecedented Second Impeachment

We spoke with Barbara Perry, Gerald L. Baliles Professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, to get her thoughts on Wednesday’s events. Perry co-chairs the center’s Presidential Oral Histories program, has written or edited 14 books on presidents, first ladies, the Kennedy family, the Supreme Court and civil rights and civil liberties, and served as a U.S. Supreme Court fellow and with both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate.

Barbara Perry

Preparing for violence in the U.S.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Senior Fellow at the Miller Center, University of Virginia, discusses moves to remove Donald Trump, why impeachment is important even if it may not be achieved by 20th January, how recent events will change the Republican Party, and the risk of escalating violence.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas

Dems Weigh How To Get Around An Impeachment Hold-Up To Confirming Biden’s Noms

Not having those positions filled “inhibits any kind of long-range planning,” said Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a Brookings Institution expert and a senior research director for the White House Transition Project. And it burns time off the four-year clock that Biden faces before the next election to implement his policies.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas