President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary.
Biden’s selection of his nominee to lead the Transportation Department is not believed to be imminent, and Emanuel is among multiple candidates in the running for the Cabinet position, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.
But his candidacy threatens to pull at the divisions among Democrats that Biden has largely managed to avoid as he begins to fill out his administration. Progressive leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, have been especially vocal in criticizing the prospect of Emanuel joining the Cabinet.
Emanuel, a former three-term congressman who served as Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff and was a senior adviser in Bill Clinton’s administration, has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades.
He turned reviving Chicago’s ragged public transportation system and overhauling the city’s two busy, worn airports into a top issue during his eight years as mayor. He is also credited with making Chicago one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the country during his time in office.
But selecting Emanuel could be a tough sell to some in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party who are critical of his handling of the high-profile police shooting death of Laquan McDonald, a Black teenager killed by a white officer, during his time as Chicago’s mayor.
Whether Emanuel is ultimately picked could also be affected by other factors as Biden has placed a premium on building out a Cabinet and team of senior advisers from a diverse set of backgrounds, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Biden transition team did not respond to requests for comment.
Allies of Emanuel in the Illinois congressional delegation have made the case to Biden transition officials that Emanuel’s knowledge of Congress and breadth of experience on big transportation projects during his eight years as mayor of the nation’s third-largest city would make him an effective leader at the Transportation Department.
Rep. Mike Quigley, a Chicago Democrat who replaced Emanuel in Congress when he left to work for Obama, said Emanuel’s “tough, no nonsense” posture could make him an effective member of the new Cabinet as the Biden administration will immediately face major challenges with the pandemic and the economy.
“There is no honeymoon period,” Quigley said. “The administration needs people like Rahm who know how to get things done.”
Some of the city’s Black elected officials are also vouching for him.
“Here’s a guy who understands government at all levels,” said Michelle Harris, a Chicago alderman who represents a predominantly Black ward on Chicago’s south side that benefited from Emanuel’s push for Chicago Transit Authority modernization. “He’s the perfect candidate for the job. You don’t get many candidates that have more experience on how government works. He can start running day one. He’s not going to be crawling or walking. He’s going to be running.”
Emanuel announced in September 2018 that he would not run for a third term as Chicago mayor, citing a desire to step away from the hectic life of elected office.
The decision came as he saw his popularity erode in the city’s large African American community following the McDonald police shooting.
The death of McDonald, who was shot 16 times, became a touchstone moment in the ongoing national conversation about racial injustice. Emanuel said he did not see the grisly video until it was set to be made public in November 2015.
Still, he faced rebuke from some Black leaders in the city who accused him and his administration…
Read More: Biden considers former Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel for transportation secretary