US President Joe Biden makes selections for administration positions

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden has selected people for his Cabinet, his White House team and other top jobs in his administration ahead of being sworn into office on Wednesday.

Here are some of the people Biden has called on to run the US government.

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: William Burns

During more than three decades as a US diplomat, including as deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Burns honed specialties in Russia and the Middle East and was ambassador to Russia.

Attorney General: Merrick Garland

A federal appeals court judge since 1997, Garland was nominated by Obama for the US Supreme Court in 2016, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to consider the nomination in a presidential election year.

Secretary of Commerce: Gina Raimondo

The Democratic governor of Rhode Island and a lawyer with a background in venture capital, Raimondo has launched successful workforce training programs in her state.

Secretary of Labour: Marty Walsh

Walsh, elected mayor of Boston in 2013, has backed both a $US15 minimum wage and paid family leave. He has said he wants to expand union membership.

Secretary of State: Antony Blinken

The longtime Biden confidant served as No. 2 at the State Department and as deputy national security adviser in Obama's administration.

Secretary of the Treasury: Janet Yellen

The former Federal Reserve chair deepened the central bank's focus on workers and inequality. She will be the country's first woman to serve as treasury secretary if confirmed.

Secretary of Defence: Lloyd Austin

Austin, who oversaw US forces in the Middle East under Obama, would be the first Black US secretary of defence if the Senate confirms him. He retired in 2016 and would need a waiver from Congress to take the post, as he has been out of the military less than the required seven years.

Secretary of Transportation: Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and was one of Biden's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Secretary of Agriculture: Tom Vilsack

Vilsack, who led the US Department of Agriculture under Obama, was Iowa's governor from 1999 until 2007.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Marcia Fudge

Fudge has served in the House of Representatives since 2008. If confirmed, Fudge would be the second Black woman to lead HUD.

Secretary of Education: Miguel Cardona

Naming Cardona, currently the education commissioner for Connecticut and a former teacher, fulfils Biden's pledge to choose a professional educator to lead the Education Department.

Secretary of the Interior: Deb Haaland

Haaland, a Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico since 2019, would be the first Native American Cabinet secretary and the first to oversee the department, whose jurisdiction includes tribal lands.

Secretary of Energy: Jennifer Granholm

Granholm served as the first female governor of Michigan, from 2003 to 2011. In 2009, when Biden was vice president under Obama, she worked with his office on the bailout of auto manufacturers during the Great Recession.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Denis McDonough

McDonough was the White House chief of staff during Obama's second term and also served as Obama's deputy national security adviser.

Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas

The Cuban-born lawyer will be the first Latino and first immigrant to head the department if confirmed. As head of Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama, Mayorkas led implementation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for "Dreamers" - people who were brought to the United States as children.

Secretary of Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerra

The California attorney general was previously a 12-term congressman who played a key role in passing the Affordable Care Act in Congress.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair: Gary Gensler

The former Goldman Sachs banker was chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2014, and since November has led Biden's transition planning for financial industry oversight.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director: Rohit Chopra

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Federal Trade Commission member Chopra helped progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren set up the bureau and served as its first student loan ombudsman.

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director: Rochelle Walensky

Walensky, currently the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will take a prominent role in the Biden administration's fight against the coronavirus.

Coronavirus Coordinator: Jeff Zients

Zients will oversee an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across multiple federal agencies.

Surgeon General: Vivek Murthy

A physician and former surgeon general, Murthy gained prominence in recent months as co-chairman of Biden's advisory board dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, which the president-elect has pledged to make his top priority.

Ambassador to the United Nations: Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Thomas-Greenfield is a Black woman who served as Obama's top diplomat on Africa from 2013 to 2017, leading US policy in Africa south of the Sahara during the West African Ebola outbreak.

United States Trade Representative: Katherine Tai

The House Ways and Means Committee lawyer played a key role in negotiating stronger labour provisions with the Trump administration in the new US-Mexico-Canada trade deal.

White House Domestic Policy Council Director: Susan Rice

The experienced national security official has served as US ambassador to the United Nations and as an assistant secretary of state, and was national security advisor during Obama's second term.

Office of Management and Budget Director: Neera Tanden

Tanden, president of the progressive Centre for American Progress think tank, helped create Obamacare, which Republicans want to demolish.

Council of Economic Advisers Chair: Cecilia Rouse

Rouse, a labour economist and dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, was a member of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers from 2009 to 2011.

National Economic Council Director: Brian Deese

The Obama administration veteran helped lead efforts to bail out the automotive industry during the 2009 financial crisis and helped negotiate the landmark Paris climate accord.

National Security Adviser: Jake Sullivan

Biden's national security adviser when he served as vice president to Obama, Sullivan also served as deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines

Haines served as deputy national security adviser under Obama and previously was the first woman to serve as CIA deputy director.

Special Presidential Envoy For Climate: John Kerry

Former US Senator and Secretary of State Kerry will act as a Cabinet-level "climate czar" in the Biden administration who will help guide the country's climate diplomacy.

Environmental Protection Agency: Michael Regan

Regan, North Carolina's top environmental regulator, worked at the EPA during the Clinton and Bush administrations. If confirmed, Regan would be the first Black man to run the EPA.

Domestic Climate Policy Coordinator: Gina McCarthy

McCarthy ran the EPA under Obama and managed some of the administration's signature rules for air and water pollution.

White House Chief Of Staff: Ron Klain

A longtime Biden adviser with experience in responding to the Ebola pandemic, Klain was picked for the chief of staff role that sets the president's agenda.

- Reuters