US: Biden renominates stalled picks for administration posts

US President Joe Biden has renominated his picks for key posts in his administration. The renominated picks come as the new Democratic-held Senate convened this week.

The White House said on Tuesday that Biden renominated his picks for several administration posts that were stalled in the Senate. Some of the posts include the US ambassador to India, the leadership posts in the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as a member of the Federal Communications Commission. The nominations were stalled in the 50-50 Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tiebreaker.

Biden renominated Gigi Sohn to fill in the fifth seat in the FCC. Sohn previously worked as an aide to Tom Wheeler, who was the FCC chair during the Obama administration. Sohn was nominated in October 2021.

Denver International Airport Chief Executive Phil Washington is Biden’s pick to lead the FAA, and the Senate Commerce Committee has yet to hold a hearing for Washington. Washington, however, has faced criticism from Republicans after being named in a search warrant linked to corruption allegations at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Washington has denied wrongdoing.

Billy Nolen, the top aviation safety official at the FAA, has been the acting head of the agency.

Biden has also renominated former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to be the US ambassador to India. Garcetti was the mayor of Los Angeles until he reached his term limits in 2022, is a Biden ally, and co-chaired his 2020 presidential campaign.

However, some Democrats also expressed concerns with Garcetti regarding allegations that the now-former Los Angeles mayor ignored complaints about sexual harassment and abusive language by some political allies. Garcetti has also denied wrongdoing.

The US leader also renominated Dilawar Syed for Small Business Administration deputy administrator position. Syed’s nomination was stalled by Republicans due to Syed’s association with an advocacy group that has been critical of Israel.

Biden is set to visit the country’s southern border with Mexico on Thursday, where he plans to address a long-running issue that has challenged the US leader in his first two years in office. Speaking to reporters after returning from his Kentucky visit, Biden said he wants to see “peace and security” at the border, originally saying that he intended to visit the southwest border, but the details were still being finalized.

“I’m going to see what’s going on,” said Biden regarding the upcoming visit. “I’m going to be making a speech tomorrow on border security, and you’ll hear more about it tomorrow.”