President-elect Biden seeks a diverse Cabinet. Here's who will join his administration and who might be top contenders

Bart Jansen and William Cummings, USA TODAY

President-elect Joe Biden campaigned to have a government as diverse as America. After 36 years in the Senate and eight years as vice president, Biden now has an opportunity to tap a broad range of government officials and policy experts to lead the federal departments.

His commitment to nominating candidates of diverse backgrounds was reflected in several of his early announcements. He tapped Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American, to become the first Latino head of the Department of Homeland Security; Janet Yellen as the first woman to head the Treasury; Avril Haines as the first female director of national intelligence and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman, as his ambassador to the United Nations. And he appointed an all-female communications staff.

After Biden's victory, much of the speculation about his potential appointments centered on high-profile figures, including several of his rivals in the Democratic primary and a number of sitting senators. But outside of 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry as a special envoy on climate change, few of Biden's initial picks were well known to the general public.

Biden indicated it's unlikely he would tap progressives like Sens. Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, telling NBC News, "We already have significant representation among progressives in our administration." Biden said taking a "person of consequence" out of the House or Senate would be "a really difficult decision" because, "I have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda, and it's going to take really strong leaders in the House and Senate to get it done."

"But there's nothing really off the table," Biden added.

What he said: Read what Joe Biden said in his first speech as president-elect

Broad support: The prominent Republicans who supported Biden

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have pledged to run an administration that reflects the nation's diversity.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have pledged to run an administration that reflects the nation's diversity.

Here is a look at who he has picked and the top contenders for the open jobs.

Chief of staff: Ron Klain

Biden has tapped Ron Klain as his White House chief of staff. Klain, 59, was a senior adviser to the Biden campaign. Her served as chief of staff to vice presidents Biden and Al Gore and headed the White House response to the Ebola epidemic in Africa during the Obama administration.

A close confidant of Biden, Klain had long been rumored for the post even before the election.

In a statement, Biden said Klain's "deep, varied experience and capacity to work with people all across the political spectrum is precisely what I need in a White House chief of staff as we confront this moment of crisis and bring our country together again."

Secretary of State: Antony Blinken

Biden named Antony Blinken, a veteran foreign policy official and longtime confidant, as his choice for secretary of state.

Blinken, who held top-level national security and State Department positions during the Obama administration, has worked side-by-side with Biden on foreign policy issues for nearly two decades.

The move may disappoint some who wanted Biden to nominate Susan Rice, another longtime foreign policy hand and a Black woman, to lead the State Department. Biden has pledged to appoint a diverse Cabinet and tapping Rice would have sent an early signal of his commitment to fulfilling that pledge.

Treasury secretary: Janet Yellen

President-elect Joe Biden named Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, to lead the Treasury Department. If she is confirmed, Yellen would become the first woman to head the department.

Yellen became chair of the Federal Reserve System in February 2014 during the Obama administration, after serving more than three years as vice governor. She previously served as head of the Council of Economic Advisers to President Bill Clinton.

Yellen argued in August that Congress needed to approve additional stimulus to spur growth amid the coronavirus pandemic, as she wrote in an op-ed in the New York Times and told National Public Radio. As a member of the Climate Leadership Council, she supported taxing carbon emissions as the most efficient way to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Defense secretary: Lloyd Austin

Biden will nominate retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to lead the Pentagon, the Associated Press reports.

Austin, who would be the first Black Defense Secretary, was the Army’s vice chief of staff and also led the military’s most consequential command, Central Command, which oversees military operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Austin prefers to work behind the scenes, building by consensus and leading by example.

The military has struggled to diversify its senior military ranks. Austin is one of a relatively few Black Army officers who have commanded combat units, which is the principal route to the highest commands in the military.

Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas

Biden selected Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban American lawyer who ran Citizenship and Immigration Services before becoming deputy secretary of the department during the Obama administration, to head the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed, Mayorkas would be the first Latino to run the department since it was established in 2003.

Mayorkas, who arrived in the U.S. with his parents as refugees in 1960, would also be the first immigrant to head DHS, which has been at the center of several of President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies.

Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerra

Biden will nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the Health and Human Services department, a critical appointment amid a global pandemic that has killed more than 280,000 peop in the U.S. alone.

If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1-trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.

Ambassador to the UN: Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Biden will nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as the top U.S. diplomat overseeing African affairs in the Obama administration, to be his ambassador to the United Nations.

Biden's nomination of Thomas-Greenfield would elevate a Black woman and career foreign service official to the high-profile position. She would bring a markedly different tone and presence to the international body, which the Trump administration has derided and denigrated.

Tom Perriello, a former Democratic congressman and diplomat, tweeted that Thomas-Greenfield is "a diplomatic powerhouse respected around the world. I’ve witnessed her getting human rights activists freed and kleptocrats held accountable."

Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines

Biden nominated Avril Haines, a former deputy CIA director and deputy national security adviser, to become the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community as the director of national intelligence.

Haines worked directly with the president-elect previously, serving as deputy chief counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2007 to 2008 when Biden was the committee's chairman.

National security adviser: Jake Sullivan

Biden tapped Jake Sullivan to serve as his national security adviser, a role he filled for Biden when he was vice president. Sullivan also previously served as deputy assistant to President Barack Obama and director of the policy planning staff at the State Department under Hillary Clinton.

Sullivan was a lead negotiator during the opening of the talks that led to the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump later pulled out of and which Biden hopes to revive.

White House press secretary: Jen Psaki

Biden chose all women for his communications team, led by Jen Psaki, a veteran of President Barack Obama's administration, as his press secretary. Psaki, who wore many hats under Obama, including White House communications director, has overseen the confirmation team for Biden's transition.

As press secretary, Psaki will become the public face of the Biden administration, a role that Kayleigh McEnany holds in Trump's administration.

Chief medical adviser: Anthony Fauci

Biden told CNN he asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, to become his chief medical adviser and part of his COVID-19 response team. Fauci has been a top official dealing with the pandemic.

When asked on NBC's "Today" show if he told Biden he would serve as his chief medical adviser, Fauci said, "Oh, absolutely. I said yes right on the spot."

Climate change envoy: John Kerry

Former Secretary of State John Kerry was tapped to serve as Biden's special presidential envoy. Kerry played a key role in crafting the Paris Climate Accord and signed the eventual agreement.

The Paris accord was another international agreement entered during the Obama administration that Trump pulled the U.S. out of and that Biden hopes to rejoin.

Office of Management and Budget: Neera Tanden

Neera Tanden would be the first woman and first person of Southeast Asian descent to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which not only maps the president's spending blueprint but also serves as a key gatekeeper by reviewing government regulations for their financial impact.

Some progressive Democrats objected to Tanden's nomination as did numerous Republican senators who objected to her history of combative tweets.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. – who is expected to chair the Budget Committee that will oversee Tanden's confirmation – told reporters Tanden could face an "uphill battle" being approved.

Surgeon general: Vivek Murthy

Biden selected Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general during the last three years of the Obama administration, to return to his former role. As surgeon general from 2014-2017, Murthy helped lead the U.S. response to the Zika and Ebola outbreaks and he worked to address the opioid crisis.

Murthy also helped bring attention to the health consequences of stress and loneliness, an issue often raised as local governments impose restrictions in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

CDC director: Rochelle Walensky

Biden has selected Rochelle Walensky, head of the infectious disease division at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Harvard Medical School professor, to replace Robert Redfield as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Walensky is best known for her work on the national and international response to HIV/AIDS.

Justice Department

Biden hasn't yet chosen his Justice Department chief, but a number of contenders have emerged.

  • Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee where she has been harshly critical of Attorney General William Barr. She dropped her presidential campaign after the South Carolina primary and endorsed Biden.

  • Sally Yates, a former deputy attorney general in the Obama administration, served briefly during the Trump administration transition as acting attorney general before she was fired for refusing to support the president’s ban on immigration from Muslim countries. In subsequent testimony before a Senate committee, Yates recounted how former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn opened himself to possible blackmail when he lied about his pre-inaugural contacts with a Russian ambassador.

  • Stacey Abrams, a former member of the Georgia Legislature who was among those considered as Biden’s running mate. Abrams has been a fierce advocate for voting rights after running an unsuccessful but high-profile campaign for governor of Georgia, a state Biden won.

  • Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and presidential candidate, was a key sponsor of sweeping criminal justice legislation aimed at cutting mandatory minimum sentences and reducing the federal prison population.

  • Preet Bharara, a former chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan’s Southern District of New York, was fired by Trump after the then-newly elected president had asked him to remain on the job. Bharara subsequently described a series of contacts with Trump before his firing that he said threatened the Justice Department’s independence from the White House.

Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, as she poses with other female House members prior to the official opening of the 113th Congress.
Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, as she poses with other female House members prior to the official opening of the 113th Congress.

Labor

  • William Spriggs, a professor of economics at Howard University, chief economist to the AFL-CIO and former assistant secretary of labor during the Obama administration.

  • Sharon Block, the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and former senior counselor to the labor secretary during the Obama administration.

Education

  • Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers. She personally endorsed Warren during the primaries but organized virtual campaign events for Biden.

  • Lily Garcia, former head of the National Education Association . She serves on the president's advisory commission on educational excellence for Hispanics and is a board member of the Economic Policy Institute.

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren joins AFT President Randi Weingarten at Oscar Depriest Elementary School to support CPS teachers and staff on strike in Chicago on Oct. 22, 2019.
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren joins AFT President Randi Weingarten at Oscar Depriest Elementary School to support CPS teachers and staff on strike in Chicago on Oct. 22, 2019.

Transportation

  • Eric Garcetti, whose father is Latino, is the mayor of Los Angeles and co-chairman of Biden's vice presidential search committee.

  • Beth Osborne, director of the advocacy group Transportation for America, who served as acting assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for transportation in the Obama administration. She has worked for lawmakers including Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

Housing and Urban Development

  • Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles and co-chairman of Biden's vice presidential search committee.

  • Rep. Karen Bass of California, who was considered as Biden's running mate. As speaker of the state Assembly, she became the first Black woman to lead a state legislative chamber.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, wears a facemask as he arrives for the 2020 vice presidential debate.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, wears a facemask as he arrives for the 2020 vice presidential debate.

Agriculture

  • Heidi Heitkamp, a former senator from North Dakota who served on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee and who previously served as state attorney general.

In this Aug. 21, 2018 file photo, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., left, and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., speak on Capitol Hill in Washington. Both senators are from states President Trump won in 2016 and are being targeted to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
In this Aug. 21, 2018 file photo, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., left, and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., speak on Capitol Hill in Washington. Both senators are from states President Trump won in 2016 and are being targeted to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.

  • Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee who lost is bid for reelection this year after 30 years in Congress.

  • Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, who heads the Agriculture subcommittee on nutrition and oversight.

Energy

  • Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, former member of the House representing the state, which includes several of the department's facilities.

  • Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., who was acting director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth and a senior adviser at the AFL-CIO.

Vice President Mike Pence greets Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, as Pence arrives, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
Vice President Mike Pence greets Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, as Pence arrives, Thursday, March 5, 2020 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

Interior

  • David Hayes, former deputy secretary of interior during the Obama and Clinton administrations. He is executive director of the State Energy and Environmental Impact Center at New York University Law School.

  • Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall of New Mexico, and former Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Udall of Colorado.

  • Reps. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, a longstanding member of Congressional Hispanic Caucus who heads the Natural Resources Committee, and Deb Haaland, a registered member of the Native American tribe Pueblo of Laguna who serves on the Natural Resources Committee.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, left, and Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 26, 2010, before the House Natural Resources Committee.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, left, and Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 26, 2010, before the House Natural Resources Committee.

Veterans Affairs

  • Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Army National Guard veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq. Duckworth served as assistant secretary of veterans affairs during the Obama administration.

  • Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a primary rival of Biden who served in the Navy Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan. Buttigieg also has been mentioned as a potential U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Commerce

  • Rohit Chopra, member of the Federal Trade Commission and former undersecretary of education during the Obama administration.

  • Susan Helper, an economics professor at Case Western Reserve University and former senior economist on Obama's Council of Economic Advisers and chief economist at the Commerce Department.

Central Intelligence Agency

  • Thomas E. Donilon, a former national security adviser in the Obama administration who oversaw the transition at the State Department.

  • • Michael Morell, a 30-year CIA veteran who served as the agency’s acting director and its deputy director from 2010 to 2013.

President Barack Obama, second from left, former aide Samantha Power, right, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, third from left, and incumbent National Security Adviser Tom Donilon return to the Oval Office after a announcement at the Rose Garden of the White House on June 5, 2013
President Barack Obama, second from left, former aide Samantha Power, right, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, third from left, and incumbent National Security Adviser Tom Donilon return to the Oval Office after a announcement at the Rose Garden of the White House on June 5, 2013

U.S. trade representative

  • Jennifer Hillman, who has extensive experience in trade and international economics as a former World Trade Organization judge and a onetime general counsel in the USTR’s office.

  • Miriam Sapiro, who served as deputy U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration.

  • Tom Nides, former deputy secretary of state who is now a managing director and vice chairman at Morgan Stanley, an investment bank.

Other White House staffers

Biden and Harris have named a number of other staffers to serve in his incoming administration:

  • Cedric Richmond, senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement

  • Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director

  • Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president

  • Dana Remus, White House counsel

  • Jen O'Malley Dillon, deputy chief of staff

  • Louisa Terrell, director of White House Office of Legislative Affairs

  • Reema Dodin, deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs

  • Shuwanza Goff, deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs

  • Cathy Russell, director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel

  • Mike Donilon, senior adviser to the president

  • Pili Tobar, deputy White House communications director

  • Karine Jean-Pierre, principal deputy press secretary

  • Julie Rodriguez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

  • Carlos Elizondo, White House social secretary

  • Annie Tomasini, director of Oval Office operations

  • Hartina Flournoy, chief of staff to the vice president

  • Ashley Etienne, communications director to the vice president

  • Symone Sanders, senior adviser and chief spokesperson for the vice president

  • Rohini Kosoglu, domestic policy adviser to the vice president

  • Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon, chief of staff to the first lady

  • Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady

  • Mala Adiga, policy director for the first lady

  • Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady

Other senior administration officials

Health team:

  • Marcella Nunez-Smith, COVID-19 equity task force chairwoman

  • Jeff Zients, COVID-19 response coordinator and counselor to the president

  • Natalie Quillian, deputy COVID-19 response coordinator

Economics team:

  • Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

  • Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the treasury

  • Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council

Contributing: Maureen Groppe, Kevin Johnson, Deirdre Shesgreen, Savannah Behrmann, Rebecca Morin and Tom Vanden Brook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden Cabinet picks: Who may be tapped for leadership roles

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    Several hundred people paid their respects last week at a funeral in Russia for the Chechnyan teenager who beheaded a teacher in France over cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad. Samuel Paty, a 47-year old history teacher, became the target of a hostile online campaign after discussing the cartoons in a class on freedom of speech and was eventually attacked and murdered by Abdoulakh Anzorov, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee, in October. Anzorov was shot dead by police shortly after the attack on October 16. His body was repatriated to Russia last week to allow his family to bury him in his ancestral village in the predominantly Muslim region of Chechnya. Several hundred people attended the funeral on Friday in the village of Shalazhi, chanting prayers on their way to the cemetery, a video released by several media outlets showed. Salman Magamadov, the village chief, insisted in an interview with the Podyem media outlet on Monday that Anzorov received an ordinary burial without “any special honours”. Prominent Muslim clerics in Russia have used the attack to condemn French authorities for mocking their religion. Ramzan Kadyrov, the strongman leader of Chechnya, said French President Emmanuel Macron was to blame for allegedly encouraging insults against Muslims. Mr Kadyrov later sought to distance his region from the attack, insisting that the teenager, an ethnic Chechen, was born in Moscow and moved to France when he was a small child.

  • Former Florida health official posts video of state police entering her home, drawing their weapons

    Rebekah Jones, a former Florida Health Department official, tweeted a video in which it appears state police entered her home to confiscate her computer and other devices. The video appears to show police drawing their weapons.

  • Tuesday's 'safe harbor' deadline essentially ends Trump's doomed election challenges

    President Trump's janky legal and political campaign to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden through the courts and state legislatures effectively dies Tuesday, when the "safe harbor" deadline presumptively locks in certified vote counts. As of Monday night, 47 states and the District of Columbia have certified their results, giving Biden electoral votes to spare, according to Reuters' tally. When the Electoral College formally casts ballots on Dec. 14, Biden should have 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.Under the 1887 Electoral Count Act, each state's slate of electors chosen by the "safe harbor" date "is final and presumptively cannot be challenged in court or in Congress," CNN's Elie Honig explains. "The states are not required to finalize their electoral votes by the safe harbor date — but if they do, those determinations are protected by federal law," so this "should effectively extinguish any dying embers of hope even for the last few remaining election denialists.""Trump's legal team publicly says the safe harbor deadline is meaningless and they'll simply disregard it," since it isn't enshrined in the Constitution, Politico reports. "But the campaign's legal filings tell another story," and "as Trump attempts to bludgeon his way to a second term, judges and lawyers for both sides have also treated the safe-harbor deadline as a cause for urgency." There will still be a bit of drama as Trump allies in Congress challenge the final results Jan. 6, and Trump may have other reasons for publicly keeping up his losing fight.> Per its FEC report yesterday, Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election have cost his campaign about $8.8 million so far, including about $2.3 million on lawyers. > > But they've helped him raise $207 million. https://t.co/lYZ63XODg8 https://t.co/3eR3uB1WYJ> > — Brad Heath (@bradheath) December 4, 2020But "Trump's allies have increasingly acknowledged their losing legal hand," Politico reports, and the accumulating losses "have all underscored a reality that seems to be sinking in inside Trump's orbit: It's over."More stories from theweek.com Fox's Lou Dobbs berates Stephen Miller for the White House not jumping on Ted Cruz's Supreme Court offer Arizona's Republican Party asks followers if they're willing to die to 'Stop the Steal' The post-Mitch McConnell GOP is going to be a carnival of madness

  • The Taliban are megarich – here's where they get the money they use to wage war in Afghanistan

    The Taliban militants of Afghanistan have grown richer and more powerful since their fundamentalist Islamic regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001. In the fiscal year that ended in March 2020, the Taliban reportedly brought in US$1.6 billion, according to Mullah Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, who revealed the Taliban’s income sources in a confidential report commissioned by NATO and later obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.In comparison, the Afghan government brought in $5.55 billion during the same period. The government is now in peace talks with the Taliban, seeking to end their 19-year insurgency.I study the Taliban’s finances as an economic policy analyst at the Center for Afghanistan Studies. Here’s where their money comes from. 1\. Drugs – $416 millionAfghanistan accounted for approximately 84% of global opium production over the past five years, according to the United Nation’s World Drug Report 2020. Much of those illicit drug profits go to the Taliban, which manage opium in areas under their control. The group imposes a 10% tax on every link in the drug production chain, according to a 2008 report from the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, an independent research organization in Kabul. That includes the Afghan farmers who cultivate poppy, the main ingredient in opium, the labs that convert it into a drug and the traders who move the final product out of country. 2\. Mining – $400 million to $464 millionMining iron ore, marble, copper, gold, zinc and other metals and rare-earth minerals in mountainous Afghanistan is an increasingly lucrative business for the Taliban. Both small-scale mineral-extraction operations and big Afghan mining companies pay Taliban militants to allow them to keep their businesses running. Those who don’t pay have faced death threats.According to the Taliban’s Stones and Mines Commission, or Da Dabaro Comisyoon, the group earns $400 million a year from mining. NATO estimates that figure higher, at $464 million – up from just $35 million in 2016. 3\. Extortion and taxes – $160 millionLike a government, the Taliban tax people and industries in the growing swath of Afghanistan under their control. They even issue official receipts of tax payment.“Taxed” industries include mining operations, media, telecommunications and development projects funded by international aid. Drivers are also charged for using highways in Taliban-controlled regions, and shopkeepers pay the Taliban for the right to do business. The group also imposes a traditional Islamic form of taxation called “ushr” – which is a 10% tax on a farmer’s harvest – and “zakat,” a 2.5% wealth tax. According to Mullah Yaqoob, tax revenues – which may also be considered extortion – bring in around $160 million annually. Since some of those taxed are poppy growers, there could be some financial overlap between tax revenue and drug revenue. 4\. Charitable donations – $240 millionThe Taliban receive covert financial contributions from private donors and international institutions across the globe. Many Taliban donations are from charities and private trusts located in Persian Gulf countries, a region historically sympathetic to the group’s religious insurgency. Those donations add up to about $150 million to $200 million each year, according to the Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies. These charities are on the U.S. Treasurey Department’s list of groups that finance terrorism. Private citizens from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and some Persian Gulf nations also help finance the Taliban, contributing another $60 million annually to the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network, according to American counterterrorism agencies. 5\. Exports – $240 millionIn part to launder illicit money, the Taliban import and export various everyday consumer goods, according to the United Nations Security Council. Known business affiliates include the multinational Noorzai Brothers Limited, which imports auto parts and sells reassembled vehicles and spare automobile parts.The Taliban’s net income from exports is thought to be around $240 million a year. This figure includes the export of poppy and looted minerals, so there may be financial overlap with drug revenue and mining revenue. 6\. Real estate – $80 millionThe Taliban own real estate in Afghanistan, Pakistan and potentially other countries, according to Mullah Yaqoob and the Pakistani TV Channel SAMAA. Yaqoob told NATO annual real estate revenue is around $80 million. 7\. Specific countriesAccording to BBC reporting, a classified CIA report estimated in 2008 that the Taliban had received $106 million from foreign sources, in particular from the Gulf states.Today, the governments of Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are all believed to bankroll the Taliban, according to numerous U.S. and international sources. Experts say these funds could amount to as much as $500 million a year, but it is difficult to put an exact figure on this income stream. Building a peacetime budgetFor nearly 20 years, the Taliban’s great wealth has financed mayhem, destruction and death in Afghanistan. To battle its insurgency, the Afghan government also spends heavily on war, often at the expense of basic public services and economic development.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]A peace agreement in Afghanistan would allow the government to redirect its scarce resources. The government might also see substantial new revenue flow in from legal sectors now dominated by the Taliban, such as mining. Stability is additionally expected to attract foreign investment in the country, helping the government end its dependence on donors like the United States and the European Union.There are many reasons to root for peace in war-scarred Afghanistan. Its financial health is one of them.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Hanif Sufizada, University of Nebraska Omaha.Read more: * How a troop drawdown in Afghanistan signals American weakness and could send Afghan allies into the Taliban’s arms * After US and Taliban sign accord, Afghanistan must prepare for peaceHanif Sufizada does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

  • Mohammed bin Salman rejected claims he sent an elite hit squad to kill a Saudi spy chief exiled in Canada, arguing he's immune from prosecution anyway

    Saad al-Jabri sued Crown Prince Mohammed in Washington, DC, in August, claiming he was targeted because he knew damning secrets about the royal court.

  • 10 Indoor Plant Stands That Seriously Stand Out

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  • Victory for trans advocates as Supreme Court rejects bathroom policy appeal

    The decision lets stand a lower court ruling that upheld an Oregon school's policy of letting transgender students use facilities that align with their gender identity.

  • U.S. green groups say honeymoon is over, turn up heat on Biden

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. environmental groups that poured money and effort behind Democrat Joe Biden's successful run for president are shifting to a new more adversarial role now that he has been elected, launching a pressure campaign to make sure he delivers on his promises to fight climate change. The dynamic reflects a return to influence for environmental advocacy groups after four years in which they were shut out by the administration of President Donald Trump, a climate skeptic who crafted policies to maximize U.S. fossil fuel development with the help of industry. While Biden united a range of groups from youth activists to labor unions behind his presidential campaign, he has already become the target of some green groups for considering cabinet picks with ties to fossil fuels.

  • Los Angeles police move in on BLM protesters

    Video shared online shows police moving in on the protesters and hitting them with batons. One protester was reportedly arrested. Protesters say they are opposed to Garcetti, who co-chaired Biden's campaign, based on his handling of issues such as homelessness and the COVID-19 pandemic.