CHICAGO (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve as his transportation secretary.
Biden's pick to lead the Transportation Department is not believed to be imminent, and Emanuel is among multiple candidates in the running for the Cabinet position.
That's according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.
During his 8-year tenure as mayor, Emanuel is credited with fixing Chicago’s ragged public transportation system, overhauling O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, and making the city a bicycle-friendly city, the Associated Press reported.
Biden and Emanuel are no strangers to each other. Before becoming mayor of Chicago, Emanuel served as former President Barack Obama's first White House chief of staff.
Emanuel is a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics.
Some party progressives are critical of Emanuel's handling of the 2018 police shooting death of Black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white officer when Emanuel was mayor.
