President-elect Joe Biden campaigned to have a government as diverse as America. After 36 years in the Senate and eight years as vice president, Biden now has an opportunity to tap a broad range of government officials and policy experts to lead the federal departments.His commitment to nominating candidates of diverse backgrounds was reflected in several of his early announcements. He tapped Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American, to become the first Latino head of the Department of Homeland Security; Janet Yellen as the first woman to head the Treasury; Avril Haines as the first female director of national intelligence and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman, as his ambassador to the United Nations. And he appointed an all-female communications staff. After Biden’s victory, much of the speculation about his potential appointments centered on high-profile figures, including several of his rivals in the Democratic primary and a number of sitting senators. But outside of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry as a special envoy on climate change, few of Biden’s initial picks were well known to the general public.Biden indicated it’s unlikely he would tap progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, telling NBC News, “We already have significant representation among progressives in our administration.” Biden said taking a “person of consequence” out of the House or Senate would be “a really difficult decision” because, “I have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda, and it’s going to take really strong leaders in the House and Senate to get it done.””But there’s nothing really off the table,” Biden added. What he said:Read what Joe Biden said in his first speech as president-electBroad support:The prominent Republicans who supported BidenHere is a look at who he has picked and the top contenders for the open jobs. Chief of staff: Ron KlainBiden has tapped Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff. Klain, 59, was a senior adviser to the Biden campaign. Her served as chief of staff to vice presidents Biden and Al Gore and headed the White House response to the Ebola epidemic in Africa during the Obama administration.A close confidant of Biden, Klain had long been rumored for the post even before the election. In a statement, Biden said Klain’s “deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again.”Secretary of State: Antony BlinkenBiden named Antony Blinken, a veteran foreign policy official and longtime confidant, as his choice for secretary of state.Blinken, who held top-level national security and State Department positions during the Obama administration, has worked side-by-side with Biden on foreign policy issues for nearly two decades.The move may disappoint some who wanted Biden to nominate Susan Rice, another longtime foreign policy hand and a Black woman, to lead the State Department. Biden has pledged to appoint a diverse Cabinet and tapping Rice would have sent an early signal of his commitment to fulfilling that pledge.Treasury Secretary: Janet Yellen President-elect Joe Biden named Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, to lead the Treasury Department. If she is confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to head the department. Yellen became chair of the Federal Reserve System in February 2014 during the Obama administration, after serving more than three years as vice governor. She previously served as head of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Bill Clinton.Yellen argued in August that Congress needed to approve additional stimulus to spur growth amid the coronavirus pandemic, as she wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times and told National Public Radio. As a member of the Climate Leadership Council, she supported taxing carbon emissions as the most efficient way to curb greenhouse gas emissions.Homeland Security: Alejandro MayorkasBiden selected Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American lawyer who ran Citizenship and Immigration Services before becoming deputy secretary of the department during the Obama administration, to head the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed, Mayorkas would be the first Latino to run the department since it was established in 2003. Mayorkas, who arrived in the U.S. with his parents as refugees in 1960, would also be the first immigrant to head DHS, which has been at the center of several of President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration policies. Ambassador to the UN: Linda Thomas-GreenfieldBiden will nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as the top U.S. diplomat overseeing African affairs in the Obama administration, to be his ambassador to the United Nations.Biden’s nomination of Thomas-Greenfield would elevate a Black woman and career foreign service official to the high-profile position. She would bring a markedly different tone and presence to the international body, which the Trump administration has derided and denigrated.Tom Perriello, a former Democratic congressman and diplomat, tweeted that Thomas-Greenfield is “a diplomatic powerhouse respected around the world. I’ve witnessed her getting human rights activists freed and kleptocrats held accountable.”Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines Biden nominated Avril Haines, a former deputy CIA director and deputy national security adviser, to become the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community as the director of national intelligence. Haines worked directly with the president-elect previously, serving as deputy chief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2007 to 2008 when Biden was the committee’s chairman. National security adviser: Jake Sullivan Biden tapped Jake Sullivan to serve as his national security adviser, a role he filled for Biden when he was vice president. Sullivan also previously served as deputy assistant to President Barack Obama and director of the policy planning staff at the State Department under Hillary Clinton.Sullivan was a lead negotiator during the opening of the talks that led to the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump later pulled out of and which Biden hopes to revive. White House press secretary: Jen Psaki Biden chose all women for his communications team, led by Jen Psaki, a veteran of President Barack Obama’s administration, as his press secretary. Psaki, who wore many hats under Obama, including White House communications director, has overseen the confirmation team for Biden’s transition.As press secretary, Psaki will become the public face of the Biden administration, a role that Kayleigh McEnany holds in Trump’s administration. Climate change envoy: John Kerry Former Secretary of State John Kerry was tapped to serve as Biden’s special presidential envoy. Kerry played a key role in crafting the Paris Climate Accord and signed the eventual agreement. The Paris accord was another international agreement entered during the Obama administration that Trump pulled the U.S. out of and that Biden hopes to rejoin. Justice Department Biden hasn’t yet chosen his Justice Department chief, but a number of contenders have emerged.Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee where she has been harshly critical of Attorney General William Barr. She dropped her presidential campaign after the South Carolina primary and endorsed Biden.Sally Yates, a former deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, served briefly during the Trump administration transition as acting attorney general before she was fired for refusing to support the president’s ban on immigration from Muslim countries. In subsequent testimony before a Senate committee, Yates recounted how former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn opened himself to possible blackmail when he lied about his pre-inaugural contacts with a Russian ambassador.Stacey Abrams, a former member of the Georgia Legislature who was among those considered as Biden’s running mate. Abrams has been a fierce advocate for voting rights after running an unsuccessful but high-profile campaign for governor of Georgia, a state Biden won.Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and presidential candidate, was a key sponsor of sweeping criminal justice legislation aimed at cutting mandatory minimum sentences and reducing the federal prison population.Preet Bharara, a former chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York, was fired by Trump after the then-newly elected president had asked him to remain on the job. Bharara subsequently described a series of contacts with Trump before his firing that he said threatened the Justice Department’s independence from the White House.Defense DepartmentMichele Flournoy, a former undersecretary of Defense in the Obama administration . She is co-founder and managing partner of WestExec Advisors and co-founded the think tank Center for a New American Security, where she serves on the board.Jeh Johnson, a lawyer who served as secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration and previously as general counsel at the Pentagon.Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a member of the Armed Services Committee and an Army National Guard veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq. Duckworth, whose mother is from Thailand, was assistant secretary of veterans affairs in the Obama administration.Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a longtime member of the Armed Services Committee who might be chosen if Republicans keep control of the Senate. Reed served in the Army in the 82nd Airborne Division as a platoon leader, company commander and battalion staff officer before becoming a professor at the U.S. Military Academy.Health and Human ServicesEzekiel Emanuel, the vice provost for global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania who served as a health adviser to Biden’s campaign. He was a special adviser for health policy in the White House Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration.Vivek Murthy, a trustee of the Rand Corp. and health adviser to Biden’s campaign. Murthy, whose parents are from India, was surgeon general during the Obama administration.New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, whom Biden considered as vice president, is the first Latina Democrat to the post. She previously was a state Cabinet secretary for the Department of Aging and Long-term Services from 2002 to 2004 and the Department of Health from 2004 to 2007.LaborWilliam Spriggs, a professor of economics at Howard University, chief economist to the AFL-CIO and former assistant secretary of labor during the Obama administration.Sharon Block, the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and former senior counselor to the labor secretary during the Obama administration.EducationRandi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. She personally endorsed Warren during the primaries but organized virtual campaign events for Biden.Lily Garcia, former head of the National Education Association . She serves on the president’s advisory commission on educational excellence for Hispanics and is a board member of the Economic Policy Institute.TransportationEric Garcetti, whose father is Latino, is the mayor of Los Angeles and co-chairman of Biden’s vice presidential search committee.Beth Osborne, director of the advocacy group Transportation for America, who served as acting assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for transportation in the Obama administration. She has worked for lawmakers including Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.Housing and Urban DevelopmentEric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles and co-chairman of Biden’s vice presidential search committee.Rep. Karen Bass of California, who was considered as Biden’s running mate. As speaker of the state Assembly, she became the first Black woman to lead a state legislative chamber.AgricultureHeidi Heitkamp, a former senator from North Dakota who served on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and who previously served as state attorney general.Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee who lost is bid for reelection this year after 30 years in Congress. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, who heads the Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition and oversight.EnergyWashington Gov. Jay Inslee, former member of the House representing the state, which includes several of the department’s facilities.Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., who was acting director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and a senior adviser at the AFL-CIO. InteriorDavid Hayes, former deputy secretary of interior during the Obama and Clinton administrations. He is executive director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University Law School.Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico, and former Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Udall of Colorado.Reps. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a longstanding member of Congressional Hispanic Caucus who heads the Natural Resources Committee, and Deb Haaland, a registered member of the Native American tribe Pueblo of Laguna who serves on the Natural Resources Committee.Veterans AffairsSen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Army National Guard veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq. Duckworth served as assistant secretary of veterans affairs during the Obama administration.Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a primary rival of Biden who served in the Navy Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan. Buttigieg also has been mentioned as a potential U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.CommerceRohit Chopra, member of the Federal Trade Commission and former undersecretary of education during the Obama administration.Susan Helper, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University and former senior economist on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the Commerce Department.Central Intelligence AgencyThomas E. Donilon, a former national security adviser in the Obama administration who oversaw the transition at the State Department.• Michael Morell, a 30-year CIA veteran who served as the agency’s acting director and its deputy director from 2010 to 2013.U.S. trade representativeJennifer Hillman, who has extensive experience in trade and international economics as a former World Trade Organization judge and a onetime general counsel in the USTR’s office.Miriam Sapiro, who served as deputy U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration.Tom Nides, former deputy secretary of state who is now a managing director and vice chairman at Morgan Stanley, an investment bank.Other White House staffersBiden has named a number of other staffers to serve in his incoming administration:Cedric Richmond, senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public EngagementKate Bedingfield, White House communications director Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president Dana Remus, White House counselJen O’Malley Dillon, deputy chief of staff Louisa Terrell, director of White House Office of Legislative AffairsReema Dodin, deputy director of the Office of Legislative AffairsShuwanza Goff, deputy director of the Office of Legislative AffairsCathy Russell, director of the White House Office of Presidential PersonnelMike Donilon, senior adviser to the presidentPili Tobar, deputy White House communications director Karine Jean-Pierre, principal deputy press secretary Julie Rodriguez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Carlos Elizondo, White House social secretaryAnnie Tomasini, director of Oval Office operations Hartina Flournoy, chief of staff to the vice president Ashley Etienne, communications director to the vice president Symone Sanders, senior adviser and chief spokesperson for the vice presidentRohini Kosoglu, domestic policy adviser to the vice president Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, chief of staff to the first lady Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady Mala Adiga, policy director for the first lady Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Kevin Johnson, Deirdre Shesgreen and Rebecca Morin