Progressives in the Biden FP Team

Nice Bryan Bender story on efforts by progressives to get some folks appointed to spaces in the Biden foreign policy team:

In a forceful effort to shape a more progressive foreign policy, a coalition of left-leaning and other groups on Friday will deliver a detailed roster of 100 candidates they recommend for senior posts in the Biden administration, according to organizers and a glossy book of resumes prepared for the president-elect.

The effort marks a new phase for progressive groups, which have criticized the ties to arms-makers of some Cabinet picks and have also lobbied the Biden-Harris team to enlist a more diverse set of views in building out its national security staff.

The list draws on experts and scholars at human rights and antiwar groups and transpartisan think tanks advocating for less military intervention, as well as a number of establishment figures and unconventional thinkers with government experience.

I’m more familiar with the ideas side of this effort, which is geared towards changing the foreign policy conversation, but of course the personnel part of the equation is extremely important. I do tend to think that the campaign against folks who have worked in the defense industry is misguided; there’s *very* little serious evidence that indicates working in the industry has any meaningful impact on the promotion of hawkish views, although there’s a better case to be made about the impact on arms sales. But this is very interesting stuff, and it will be fascinating to keep watching as the slots get filled.