Joe Biden is considering appointing former South Bend mayor and presidential candidate as ambassador to China.
Axios reports: “Letting him deepen his foreign policy chops could boost Buttigieg's future, since many inside the Democratic Party believe his return as a presidential candidate is a matter of when, not if. … The Beijing post has often gone to experienced politicians, toward the middle or end of their careers, as a way to confer respect to the Chinese. A Buttigieg nomination would invert that model and give the Chinese an opportunity to get to know a potential future president. That happened with George H.W. Bush in 1974, when President Ford appointed him to the U.S. liaison office in Beijing.”
Buttigieg has also been reported to be in consideration for secretary of Transportation or Commerce, though UN Ambassador was said to be the post Mayor Pete wanted.
In related news, Biden has chosen Representative Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH) as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to lead that department again.
Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) is reportedly the leading contender for Attorney General, NBC News reports: “Biden is also considering Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who was denied a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016 by a Republican-led Senate, and Sally Yates, a former deputy attorney general, sources said.”
