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Scoop: Biden considering prominent Republicans for ambassadorships

12 February 2021
Dan Ackermann

Biden administration officials are weighing nominating prominent Republicans to ambassadorships — including Cindy McCain and former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake — to highlight the importance of bipartisanship in U.S. foreign policy, according to people familiar with their thoughts.

Why it matters: President Biden hasn't put any Republicans in his Cabinet, but a move like this would symbolize a return to the Truman-era adage that partisan politics stops "at the water's edge."

  • It also would signal to other nations the Trump era is over, and Biden speaks for all Americans, not just Democrats.
  • In addition, the potential nominations of two Arizona Republicans who clashed with former President Trump and endorsed Biden could boost Democrats, signaling a big-tent approach in a once-red state the new president won by some 10,000 votes.
  • Biden aides say it's premature to discuss either name, and no decisions have been made about ambassadorships.

What we are hearing: McCain, the widow of Sen. John McCain, has been discussed for the United Kingdom, while Flake has been mentioned for South Africa, as well as postings in Europe.

  • Competition for plum ambassadorships, especially in Western Europe, will be intense, with Biden officials already hinting they won’t appoint as many donors as previous presidents.
  • Cindy McCain, who testified to Biden's strengths during a speech at the Democratic National Convention, is likely to end up with an ambassadorship of some kind, though London isn't guaranteed.
  • In addition to being the spouse of the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, she has been a prominent Republican figure herself nationally.
  • Flake cast himself as a traditional Republican and emerged as a critic of Trump. He served as a Mormon missionary to South Africa as well as Zimbabwe.

How it works: Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, is helping manage the process, deciding how to reward various supporters and donors, groups that are typically in the running for ambassadorships.

  • Now that Tony Blinken has been installed as secretary of State, that process is accelerating, but final decisions about who gets what are weeks away.
  • British media reported on the possibility of McCain heading to London in November, but those discussions are more advanced now.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.