Confirmation biases: Biden’s cabinet picks

Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half the price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day.

Yeah.

Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.

Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow 135 gigabytes of network busy. Taxes and fees extra.

See mintmobile.com hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. You know one of the perks about having four kids that you know about is actually getting a direct line to the big man up north. And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the gift of Mint Mobile's unlimited wireless for $15 a month.

Now you don't even need to wrap it.

Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.

Of $45 for a three month plan equivalent to $15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes. If network's busy, taxes and fees extra. See mintmobile.com.

Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host Jason Palmer. Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. Things have become messier in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a backroom power sharing deal appears to have fizzled. We ask whether the political shift will help or hinder the much needed reforms that the current President had promised. And it used to be that rappers the world over got their linguistic cues from the American scene. But in recent years, it's London's multi ethnic melting pot that's contributing the slang and perhaps even the worldview that MCs look to. First up though, this week's hearings in the Senate for President Joe Biden's cabinet picks will help to shape how he governs. Yesterday, senators heard from Merrick Garland.

I am honored to appear before you today as the President's nominee to be the attorney general.

Mr. Biden has been praised for the diversity of those he's nominated, some of whom have already been confirmed. Among them are Janet Yellen, the first woman to become Treasury Secretary, and General Lloyd Austin, the first black person to lead the Pentagon. But the President's picks aren't guaranteed. Each has to be confirmed by a Senate that's evenly split along party lines with the Vice President Kamala Harris holding a tie breaking vote Given that not all the nominees are popular with all Democratic senators, some are on decidedly shaky ground.

Joe Biden's Cabinet is an interesting mixture.

John Priddo is our United States editor and presenter of Checks and Balance, our show on US Politics.

It's highly diverse racially and broadly, going by the people he's picked. Not that diverse ideologically. It's mainly made up of centre left Democrats. The Bernie Sanders wing of the party hasn't got much of a look in.

And it has to be said, a lot of these selections seem like familiar names.

Yes, that's right. If you've paid attention to American politics over the past 10 years or so, you'll know a lot of these figures already. Some of them are really high calibre people with a lot of experience. And also some of them are veterans of bitter political fights of years gone by. For example, Merrick Garland, who's been nominated as Attorney General so to lead the Department of Justice. Jason, you'll remember he was the judge who was nominated by Barack Obama to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat. And Mitch McMurray McConnell, leader of the Senate Republican majority at the time, kept that seat open for the best part of a year so that Republicans might have a shot at filling it after the 2016 election. Garland's booby prize, it seems, will be to be America's next Attorney General.

And how did Mr. Garland do on the first day of his hearing?

Well, he avoided saying anything embarrassing that might torpedo his nomination. I mean, that's the main goal of these confirmation hearings. The nominees are playing ball, defense most of the time. One of the things that nominees are required to do in their hearings is demonstrate that they're not just competent people, but they're also humans. And Judge Garland became quite emotional when he was talking about how his grandparents fled to the US and why that family experience motivates him to do the job of Attorney General.

Where my grandparents fled anti Semitism and persecution, the country took us in and protected us. And I feel an obligation to the country to pay back and this is the highest, best use of my own.

Set of skills to pay back Attorney General in the Biden administration is a really interesting position because the Department of Justice, which he oversees, is responsible for policing police departments. So investigating and supervising those police departments that use excess force against the people they're policing. Also because the Department of Justice enforces what's left of the Voting Rights Act. So efforts by Republicans to restrict the franchise that have come in since the election in November, those will be the target of The Justice Department. And finally, because the Justice Department is already prosecuting those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, I will supervise the.

Prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on January 6th. A heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

And you say that Judge Garland looks likely to be appointed. Why are Republicans more willing to see him in that role than they were back when he was a Supreme Court justice nomination?

Mainly because the Supreme Court justice nomination is a lifetime appointment and because the Supreme Court has so much power in American politics. Whereas they'll be hoping that Merrick Garland's gig as Attorney General lasts for four years maximum.

And what about some potentially controversial candidates? Anyone that you think is at risk of being rejected at this stage?

Well, Neera Tanden, who's been nominated as Joe Biden's budget director, looks almost certain to be rejected by the Senate. She runs the center for American Progress, which is a center left think tank affiliated ideologically with the the Democratic Party. She's a well respected, highly competent person. But she's in trouble because of her Twitter account. She tweeted that Mitch McConnell was like Voldemort in the past, called Susan Collins the worst. Susan Collins being a centrist Republican senator from Maine. Those past tweets have caused her problems in her confirmation hearings. She's apologized for them. When you said these things, did you mean them?

Senator, I have to say I deeply regret my comments.

I understand that. But when you said them, did you mean them?

I really feel badly about them, Senator.

But it looks very much like that won't be enough to save her nomination. Joe Manchin, the Democratic Senator from West Virginia, said he won't vote for her. Susan Collins is opposed as well. Mitt Romney, too, looks like he won't vote for her. And the maths in the Senate are so tight for the Democrats with this 5050 split plus Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker, that they just can't afford to lose even a small number of votes.

And with that in mind, who else should we be looking out for? Who else stands out among the nominees?

Well, one really interesting nominee is Deb Harland, who's been nominated for Secretary of the Interior, the job overseeing all the public lands in America, particularly the vast swathes of public lands out West. There's always a big political conflict over land use. To oversimplify it a bit, Republicans think that these public lands be used for drilling and ranching, and Democrats think they should be used for hiking and are concerned about the welfare of Native Americans. Harland would be the first Native American to hold the job of Interior Secretary if she's confirmed. The Department of the Interior has often had an antagonistic relationship with Native American tribes, so it would be symbolically significant to have a Native American in that job. And her nomination is making a lot of Republicans from the west very nervous. So it's not obvious that she'll be confirmed, but if she is, she'll be a very interesting member of the Cabinet to watch.

And given the sort of ideological tinge of a lot of these nominees, what does all of this tell you so far about Mr. Biden's ability to work with the Senate, both with Republicans and within his own party?

Well, I think it tells you that the initial optimism among some people that because Joe Biden was a senator himself for such a long time, he'd be able to sweet talk a large number of Republicans into doing what he wanted has proven to be false. There's not just evidence for that from the nominations hearings, Jason. At the moment, Congress is considering a Covid stimulus. It looks like that will eventually be passed through reconciliation with no Republican votes at all. There's a question here about whether the Biden administration is trying hard enough to get bipartisan support or whether it's the fault of Republicans for being obstreperous. And that depends on your point of view a bit. But generally, the view that the Biden presidency would herald an outpouring of bipartisanship looks wrong at the moment.

And meanwhile, what will you be focusing on in checks and balance this week?

We're going to have an episode on American foreign policy. This week, all the challenges that face the Biden administration as it announces its return to the world stage. If you can't wait that long, I'd really recommend the most recent episode, which is about decarbonizing America and features an interview with the new climate envoy, John Kerry. It's well worth a listen then.

I certainly will, wherever I get my podcasts. John, thanks very much for your time.

Thanks, Jason.

In recent months, the political atmosphere in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been tense, to say the least. In December, rival political groups threw chairs and buckets in a brawl that spilled out of the main parliamentary hall. It followed the announcement that President Felix Tshisekedi planned to end his alliance with his predecessor, Joseph Kapila. The two had gone into coalition after Mr. Tscisekedi's victory in the disputed 2018 election. But the new president has gradually strengthened his hand at the expense of the former leader, whose official rule ended amid accusations of corruption, incompetence, and human rights abuses. Last week, President Tshisekedi installed an ally, Sama Lukondu Kyenge, as Prime Minister. The move will pave the way for the appointment of a new cabinet, which should allow Mr. Tshisekedi to push through much needed reforms. But hopes that the change could bring relief to millions of Congo's poor may well be misplaced.

Felix Tshiseakeddes ascent to power was a surprising one.

Olivia Ackland writes for the Economist and is based in Congo.

He was the leader of one of the opposition parties, the old opposition party, UDPS. Tsakedi, after the election in 2018, to the astonishment of many Congolese, was declared winner. But by a lot of accounts, he didn't actually win the election.

How do you mean?

So the election in 2018 was widely believed to be riggs. And according to leaked results, Tuskedi only got around 19% of the vote. And so Martin Fayulu, who was the real candidate of change and a much more fearful opponent to the former President, Joseph Kabila, won with around 60% of the vote. Joseph Kabila decided that Tshisekedi was a more easy to control opponent, and so he allegedly struck this backroom deal with Tshikadi to give him the presidency. But Tshusakedi had to agree that Kabila would be allowed to maintain some power. And so they struck this sort of power sharing deal by which Kabila's party had a majority in Parliament, but Tshusakedi had the presidency.

And so what's happened with that deal in the interim? How has his presidency been?

It would be fair to say that he made a lot of grandiose promises and hasn't really delivered much. His excuse is that he's been blocked by Kabila's party, who up until recently had a majority in Parliament. I mean, it took them four months until they were able to agree on a prime minister. So Kabila and Tshekedi squabbling over who to give key cabinet roles to. And then recently, Felix Tshkedy announced that the coalition between his party and Joseph Kabila's party had fallen apart.

Affaire functionnais harmoniusement cette coalition and so.

On January 27, hundreds of members of Kabila's party, Kabila's coalition, moved across to Tshisekedi's new coalition. And so now Tshisekedi has a majority in Parliament and he has the power to appoint a New cabinet.

How has Mr. Tsisekedi managed this power grab?

So exactly how Mr. Tshisekedi has achieved this is unclear. I spoke to lots of politicians and political analysts in Kinshasa, and various people mentioned La Transoumance Politique, which basically means political nomadism, and it's quite descriptive of Congolese politics in general. So a lot of politicians are not necessarily loyal to an idea or to a party. They sort of move when they see the power balance shifting. Also, this involves money. So various people mentioned that you can buy an MP for anywhere between 7,000 and $15,000. And then there's also the threat of the justice system. So a lot of politicians have been guilty of corruption, and there's a lot of things you could pin on a lot of people if you wanted to. When people saw that Tuskede was managing to wrestle power from Kabila, a lot of MPs were quite quick to join his new coalition, so that not only they stay in with a job, they might get a payoff and they are unlikely to get chased for corruption allegations.

And so how has the country been faring under the power sharing deal before now?

So there's been a lot of deadlock. Tshisekedi promised a lot. He promised to make primary schooling free, he promised all sorts of infrastructure projects. And he said he's going to reform the electoral system before the next election. He hasn't really managed to do much of this, and his excuse is that he keeps saying he's being blocked by Kabila and by Parliament. And so his supporters are hopeful that now that he's managed to distance himself from Kabila and get a majority in Parliament, he might be able to deliver some of the changes that he promised two years ago. However, he's backtracked on some of his promises and shown alarming signs of stifling dissent recently, like his predecessor, Mr. Kabila.

So what do you think that the future holds now that Mr. Tsisekedi is less fettered?

It is promising that he has a majority in Parliament, which means he should be able to theoretically push through some much needed reform. A lot of the MPs that have moved to his new coalition, they're not necessarily there because they're loyal to him. And this probably means that he's going to have to continue with payouts, which is going to be expensive. He doesn't have a huge amount of money to do so. The economy is suffering and Congo desperately needs change and desperately needs reform. People are incredibly poor in Kinshasa. I also spoke to lots of people on the streets and they were just saying, whilst the politicians are eating, which basically means whilst the politicians are embezzling, we're still here struggling without even enough to eat. So I'm sadly not very hopeful that he's going to manage to implement great reform or change in the next two years, before the next election in 2023.

Thanks very much for joining us, Olivia.

Thanks very much for having me, Jason.

London is one of the world's most diverse cities. That multiculturalism means that what an average Londoner sounds like has also evolved over the years, and that has helped English rappers create a distinctive sound.

Grime and UK drill music are exporting London slang all around the world.

Elliot Keim writes about Britain for the Economist.

Words like mandem and peng are showing up in music from Australia to the us.

For those of us who are not as down with this music as you are, bring us up to speed. What are grime and drill? Where do they come from? What do they sound like?

British hip hop has been going for three decades, but it didn't really quite get its own distinctive sound until grime came along in the very early 2000s. It's sort of this electronic music that has inspiration from garage and hip hop and it uses sort of these very rapid beats and the lyrics are very dark. You might recognize artists like Dizzy Rascal in his song Stop that, Stop that, Stop that, Get that or jme, the Very best Yo man try ask me.

Why Charizard man think that I'm gonna.

Shock my car now Drill is slightly different. It appeared in Chicago first in the early 2010s and then soon migrated to Britain, where it got faster and darker. You might recognize Drill artist, Heady One no Better, OR6' crew from Brixton. Let's Lurk is one of their songs, Jump Out Gang, Jump Out Gang. What makes both of these genres of hip hop quite distinctive and very British is that they both use a distinctive English dialect called multicultural London English.

Tell me about multicultural London English, then.

It's built on the foundations of Jamaican patois and shares many of the same words, but also has sort of much more sporadic origins, such as Cockney African slang. And it sort of has quite a lot of new influences as well. Sort of. The more gets thrown into London's melting pot, the more emerges in this dialect. So aki from Arabic, which means brother. It's now commonly used to mean friend. And some other examples, mandem coming from the Jamaican patois, meaning a group of male friends as the music has become popular around the world. So too has the dialect spread and.

How far it's got around the world now, has it?

Pretty much. So there's a Spanish drill crew called 970 block. They use Emily lingo like you get me and Gally, which means girls. Katara Nissin, a Japanese grime mc. HE SHOUTS OUT Boy, better known, a famous grime collective and record label in the UK and some Irish MCs such as J B2, they've abandoned their native accents altogether and speak completely in Emily.

Liability to teeth should.

And why is it that this dialect in particular kind of stands out? Why is it caught on more than, say, the language used by American rappers?

So I mean, it's probably different for lots of different countries around the world, but if we take Australia as an example, it's particularly interesting. Australia, like Britain, has quite tight gun laws and plenty of knife crime, particularly in areas like western Sydney where these rappers tend to come from. So London's lingo is sort of much more relevant than gun centric American rap might be to them. Cheft meaning stabbed, Rambo meaning long knife and cheat, ching meaning knife, are common.

And how long do you reckon before any of these useful words show up in the Economist's style guide?

I can't imagine peng will be making its way into the star guide anytime soon, which means highly attractive or high quality, which is thought to come from cushion. Peng, a Jamaican word for fantastic marijuana. But you know, language is always evolving, so maybe one day, let's hope.

Elliot, thank you very much for joining us.

Thank you, Jason.

That's all for this episode of the Intelligence. If you like us, leave us a rating and a review and you can subscribe to the economist@examiner.com intelligenceoffer the link is in the show notes. See you back here tomorrow.

Sat.