Axios
Biden lowers expectations of high-value donors who hoped to land excellent diplomatic positions
President Biden is moderating his ambassador’s expectations of his high-value donors, signaling that he will not distribute excellent positions for months and insinuating that he will name fewer of them than his predecessors. The big picture: the president embraced pressure from the Democratic Party for diversity when choosing his cabinet. Now lawmakers are pressing him to extend it to his ambassador choices, which means that white male donors – the core of his fundraising base – will be in serious competition for fewer places. Be smarter, faster with the news that CEOs, entrepreneurs and politicians read. Sign the Axios Bulletins here. What we’re hearing: Biden is likely to reward loyal politicians and former advisers with conversations about former senators like Claire McCaskill who headed for a golden position in Europe. * In front of policymakers, Julianne Smith, a former Biden advisor, can be appointed ambassador to NATO. * In the donor class, Denise Bauer, Obama’s ambassador to Belgium, was one of the main fundraisers. She could return to Europe, possibly Paris, among the most coveted positions. * Doug Hickey, another major Biden donor, is also interested in posting abroad. * James Costos, a former HBO executive who served as Obama’s ambassador to Spain, expressed interest in the UK, but many others are interested, including David Cohen, executive at Comcast. * Louis Frillman, a real estate investor, and Nathalie Rayes, president of the Latino Victory Project, told associates that they are interested in Madrid or another European post. The big question: the post of ambassador to China recently went to ex-politicians, giving Beijing the prestige of a big brand name and the White House the comfort that its envoy will have a political antenna to detect any potential problems. * If Biden names Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger, who told Biden officials he is interested, that would break the mold. If time permits, he will visit the State Department on Monday, a symbolic demonstration in which he seeks to reinvigorate diplomacy. and underscore America’s commitment to allies and partners. He must also comment on his foreign policy initiatives. * While the president certainly names some donors for important positions, others are getting nervous about the possibility of being passed over and feverishly pressing their cases. * While more than 800 individuals and couples raised more than $ 100,000 for Biden’s presidential candidacy, the most elite group of “packers” raised well above that amount and also gave the maximum of $ 620,000 to the Biden Victory Fund . By the numbers: Biden is likely to make non-career nominations for about 30% of the total 190 ambassadors, leaving 70% for the Foreign Service career, according to people familiar with the matter. * This 70:30 ratio would be in line with the traditional division, according to the American Foreign Service Association. * President Trump went astray in appointing political ambassadors for about 44% of his appointments. * Trump’s nominees were also heavily undiversified, with more than 90% of their seats going to whites, Foreign Policy reported in 2018. Go deeper: the political category has always been broadly divided into three groups: politics, politicians and donors. * Biden is expected to extract more strongly from the first two categories, leaving fewer posts for donors looking to crown a successful business career with posting abroad. * Biden has a vast network of Beltway friends and allies, but he has never been more successful – or depended – on money and celebrity classes in New York and California. Support safe, smart and sensible journalism. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.