As Inauguration Day draws nearer, the government of the United States is moving, however reluctantly, to prepare for a new executive. President Donald Trump and many of his Republican allies continue to refuse to recognize the election of Joe Biden, but the transition of power seems to be going on without them. According to NBC New York, President-elect Biden is currently receiving the President’s daily intelligence briefing, and a multitude of governmental bodies are preparing for the arrival of Biden’s new cabinet. 

Biden has been periodically announcing his picks for various cabinet positions for a number of weeks now. It is no exaggeration to say that the 46th president has chosen the most diverse cabinet in American history. According to the Chicago Tribune,  Alejandro Mayorkas was nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security, and will be the first Hispanic to do so if confirmed. Additionally, Biden chose Janet Yellen to be the first female Treasury Secretary in American history, a position she is considered to be well qualified to take. These are only a couple examples of Biden’s history-making picks.

Joe Biden has also created a team with the express responsibility of tackling the Coronavirus pandemic that is currently ravaging the US. The Biden-Harris transition website, buildbackbetter.com, outlines his COVID response team, which contains a number of public health experts and epidemiologists. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has gained fame in the last ten months, will stay in government as a special advisor to the president. Xavier Becerra will also become the Secretary of Health and Human services, as well as being the first Latino to serve in this position. Biden has clearly indicated the seriousness and urgency with which he will approach the COVID-19 pandemic once the transition of power is complete.

But the extent to which Biden will be able to pass the legislation he hopes to will be largely dependent on the composition of the Senate, which is still unknown. The next four years will become much clearer once the runoff elections in Georgia are finished and once it is known whether Biden will have the luxury of leading a unified government or the burden of wrangling a divided one. 

Regardless, it’s clear that after January 20th the American government will look very different compared to the current cast of characters.