Biden names all-female senior White House communications team

US President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris have sought to emphasise diversity in their appointments ahead of their January 20 swearing-in.

Aljazeera – US President-elect Joe Biden has announced an all-female senior White House communications team in what his office called a first in the country’s history.

Among those named to be part of the team on Sunday was Jen Psaki who will serve as White House press secretary.

Psaki, 41, has held a number of senior positions, including White House communications director for former President Barack Obama’s administration.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have sought to inject diversity in their appointments and nominations so far, ahead of their January 20 swearing-in.

“I am proud to announce today the first senior White House communications team comprised entirely of women,” Biden said in a statement.

“These qualified, experienced communicators bring diverse perspectives to their work and a shared commitment to building this country back better.”

In addition to Psaki, six other appointments were announced including Kate Bedingfield, who was Biden’s deputy campaign manager, as White House communications director.

Bedingfield had also served as Biden’s communications director when he was vice president.

Other appointees include Ashley Etienne as communications director for Harris and Symone Sanders as Harris’s senior adviser and chief spokesperson.

Pili Tobar was named deputy White House communications director and Karine Jean-Pierre will be principal deputy press secretary.

Elizabeth Alexander was named communications director for incoming First Lady Jill Biden.

Unlike most cabinet-level positions, these appointments do not require Senate confirmation.

“Honored to work again for @JoeBiden, a man I worked on behalf of during the Obama-Biden Admin as he helped lead economic recovery, rebuilt our relationships with partners (turns out good practice) and injected empathy and humanity into nearly every meeting I sat in,” Psaki said on Twitter.

Biden has also named the first female head of intelligence and the first Latino chief of Homeland Security.

The president-elect has sought to move swiftly to assemble his team, despite President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede his loss in the November 3 election and continued baseless claims of voter fraud.

Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results have been met with a series of court defeats dismissing his allegations.