Sen. Bernie Sanders said he thinks President-elect Joe Biden isn't doing enough to amplify progressive policies

biden.sanders — Former Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont point fingers at each other during a Democratic Party presidential debate in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2020.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders called out President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday, saying he thinks the president-elect isn't doing enough to represent progressive policies and voices in his cabinet.
"Remember, I was the runner-up to Biden and we got a few votes, Elizabeth Warren got a few votes, a number of progressives won seats to Congress," Sanders said.
"Those voices of millions and millions of people deserve representation in the Biden cabinet. And if you're asking me if I've seen that at this point, I haven't," the Vermont senator continued.
Former Democratic presidential rival Pete Buttigieg, a moderate, is set to join the Biden cabinet as transportation secretary. Progressive voices like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren still have a chance to join the incoming administration as Biden slowly fills up slots in his cabinet.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders called out President-elect Joe Biden, saying he thinks Biden isn't doing enough to support progressive policies.

After winning the Democratic primaries over Sanders, progressives rallied behind Biden in the November election against President Donald Trump. The Electoral College affirmed Biden's win in the 2020 election on Monday, though Trump still has yet to concede.

In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, Sanders urged Biden to do more for the "progressive movement in this country" and have their voices be heard in the upcoming administration.

"Remember, I was the runner-up to Biden, and we got a few votes, Elizabeth Warren got a few votes. A number of progressives won seats to Congress," Sanders said. "Those voices of millions and millions of people deserve representation in the Biden cabinet. And if you're asking me if I've seen that at this point, I haven't."

He described other Biden cabinet picks, including former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg, a former Democratic presidential rival, as "really good, really bright, really confident people."

As Biden slowly fills up slots in his cabinet, progressive voices like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are still in the running to fill roles in the incoming Biden-Harris administration.

—Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) December 16, 2020

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another prominent progressive, made a similar call for Biden to recognize progressive demands and amplify such policies and voices during his term.

During an October interview with Jake Tapper, the New York congresswoman told CNN's Jake Tapper that she thinks it is "extremely important" for Sanders to be a part of the Biden-Harris administration.

"I think a lot of people kind of misunderstand about the progressive movement that it wasn't a slogan when Bernie ran on saying 'not me, us,'" she said at the time, adding that she thinks it is also "critically important that the Biden administration appoint progressive leaders, whether it's in Labor, it's in Treasury, whether it's secretary of Education, et cetera."

At the end of October, Warren also reportedly planned on asking Biden to join his cabinet as treasury secretary. However, Biden announced last month that former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen would be his nominee for the position.

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