Harris’ Transition Team Stacked with Biden Vets, Long-Time Staff

Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential transition team is composed of veterans of President Joe Biden‘s White House and long-time aides from her career in government.

The group is preparing for a potential Harris-Walz administration. Presidential hopefuls have historically begun planning for the changeover months before Election Day. A new administration will need to fill some 4,000 jobs.

Here are the people to know on her transition team, according to a list provided by Harris spokesman Adam Hodge:

Yohannes Abraham

Harris’ team is helmed by Abraham, back from his most recent post as ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Abraham led Biden’s transition with now-White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and former Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.). The handoff of Trump to Biden was the most complicated in recent history. Challenges included President Donald Trump‘s refusal to accept the 2020 election results, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Abraham also held multiple roles in the Obama administration on his economic, intergovernmental affairs, and public engagement teams.

Dana Remus

Remus served as Biden’s first White House general counsel. She helped confirm Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court. She also set records for confirming federal judges with varied professional experiences, including former public defenders and civil rights attorneys. Before Biden took office, Remus asked senators for candidates to fill lower-court vacancies. This enabled the Biden administration to begin working with the Senate on judicial nominees immediately once he took power. Remus is a former University of North Carolina professor who specializes in legal ethics. She became a partner at the law firm Covington & Burling after leaving the Biden White House.

Rachel Palermo

Palermo was Harris’ deputy communications director and associate counsel in the Biden White House. She guided the vice president’s media strategy after the Supreme Court struck down the federal right to abortion in 2022. Abortion has since become a signature issue for Harris. Palermo finished law school and passed the bar exam while working at the White House. She is on leave from Jenner & Block to work on Harris’ transition.

Josh Hsu

Hsu brings to the team years of experience selecting and confirming judges for the federal bench. He led judicial nominations for Biden’s transition. Hsu ran the policy team on Harris’ first presidential campaign. He spent eight years as an aide in the Senate, with stints as general counsel for Harris’ Senate office and nominations lead for the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is on leave from his partnership at Jenner & Block.

Other Hires

Erica Songer and Gabriela Cristobal, both staff in Harris’ vice presidential office, will join the transition team. Songer used to be a partner at Hogan Lovells and served as senior counsel on Biden’s transition. Cristobal worked at the Democratic National Committee before coming to the White House.