Why it matters: Progressives are mounting their pressure campaign after the president-elect did not include any of their favored candidates in his first slate of Cabinet nominees, and they are serious about installing some of their allies, blocking anyone who doesn't pass their smell test — and making noise if they are not heard.
Driving the news: Some progressives have privately said the order of Biden's announcements was important to send an early signal the incoming administration took them seriously. So far, they're suspicious of some of the people being named or rumored for jobs — but happy with John Kerry, Janet Yellen, Alejandro Mayorkas and Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Omar (D-Minn.) and fellow Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are the first sitting members of Congress to sign the petition, which objects to Reed potentially serving as head of the Office of Management and Budget. It was launched by Justice Democrats.
- "Rejecting Reed will be a major test for the soul of the Biden presidency," it says, demanding that OMB "be staffed with people who will prioritize working people, not Wall Street deficit scaremongers."
- Reed led the Bowles-Simpson Commission under Barack Obama, which progressives opposed because it made cuts to Social Security and Medicare. "Biden must not repeat Obama's mistake," the petition says.
- The Biden transition team didn't respond to a request for comment by publication time.
- "If the Biden administration is serious about protecting Medicare and Social Security, they must not appoint one of the biggest champions of cuts to lead their budget agency," she said in her statement.
- Separately, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee employed the help of actor Mark Ruffalo today to blast an e-mail to their nearly 1 million members. It urged Biden to pick Rep. Deb Haaland — a progressive elected in the 2018 midterms — for secretary of the Interior.
- The group also celebrated Kerry and Yellen's inclusion in Monday's administration announcements, saying: "This shows that the hard work of progressives has paid off, and there's more to come."
- Ocasio-Cortez was the co-chair of the Biden-Sanders Task Force on climate change leading up to the Democratic National Convention last summer.
- Sunrise Movement, the progressive climate change group, Justice Democrats, as well as incumbent and incoming members of the Squad have been pushing for Biden-Harris administration to create a climate mobilization office.
- They're happy with Kerry's announcement as a special presidential envoy for climate change, but want a domestic equivalent, like John Podesta or Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee.
Comment: Good luck with that. The Progressive Dems have served their purpose in stirring up trouble around the country, but they're delusional if they thing they can move the old-guard core of the party according to their whims.