Final deliberations are continuing for two key positions — attorney general and CIA director — in a Joe Biden administration.
Biden said he now expects to announce his picks for the two spots by early January, according to CNN. Biden had earlier indicated he intended to announce his picks by Christmas.
"It's just a matter of getting to it and through it and being able to announce them," Biden said. "We're just working through all the efforts to do due diligence."
Also unannounced are his selections for secretary of commerce, small business administrator, and secretary of labor.
Sources tell the news network that Judge Merrick Garland and Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., are considered the most likely choices for attorney general.
Garland, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since 1997, had been nominated by President Barack Obama to the Supreme Court in 2016, but Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings on his nomination in an election year.
Meanwhile, CNN noted that Biden could also take another look at former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick or former acting Attorney General Sally Yates for the post.
Lisa Monaco, homeland security adviser under Obama and an adviser to Biden during his vice presidential search, is being considered to lead the CIA, CNN reported.
It noted that David Cohen, a deputy director of the CIA in the Obama administration, and Darrell Blocker, former deputy director of the agency's counterterrorism center, are also in contention to head the CIA.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.