Rhode Island Governor Tapped As Biden’s Commerce Secretary

President-elect Joe Biden has tapped second-term Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, a former venture capitalist, to serve as commerce chief, according to The Hill.

Raimondo, the first woman to be governor of Rhode Island, will lead the Commerce Department in setting trade policy and furthering U.S. opportunities for growth. Before serving as RI governor, she was general treasurer of the state.

Raimondo, 49, has degrees from Harvard and Yale Law School and was a Rhodes scholar. She is also the co-founder of the venture capital firm Point Judith Capital in Rhode Island, and was senior vice president of the venture capital firm Village Ventures.

Raimondo was the former head of the Democratic Governors Association and national co-chair for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s presidential bid. She went on to endorse Biden after Bloomberg dropped out of the primary.

Raimondo will replace current Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. As the next commerce secretary, she will handle trade policy that under the Trump administration relied heavily on tariffs. She will also be in charge of the country’s relationship with China and the World Trade Organization.

Biden, who is against Chinese tariffs, has said he will invigorate U.S. relationships worldwide and will advance the Buy American Act, which will use $400 billion to purchase U.S.-made goods and invest $300 billion in new research and development from technology firms.

Biden also said he had picked Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to lead the Department of Labor, and Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate Isabel Guzman to head the Small Business Administration, according to a Biden press release. For Treasury Secretary, he picked former Federal Reserve chair and labor economist Janet Yellen, who will be the first woman to hold the post if she is confirmed by the Senate.

Biden said last month that he wants to pass another round of coronavirus relief as soon as he gets into office. He also said he expects Congress to fund enough vaccines for 300 million Americans.