President-elect Biden has tapped Susan Rice to be director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. Rice served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and national security adviser under President Obama. Critics called out the pick over Rice’s inexperience with domestic policy, as well as her role supporting U.S. military actions that caused devastation in Syria and Libya under Obama. The position does not require Senate confirmation.
In related news, Biden has picked another Obama administration alum, former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans groups expressed disappointment Biden did not pick a veteran to serve in the role. Jeremy Butler of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America told The Washington Post, “He’s starting in a position of public deficit because of who he is not.”