Rahm Emanuel could be Biden’s pick for transportation secretary

President-elect Joe Biden is considering former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a substantial and somewhat divisive figure in Democratic Party politics, to serve as his transportation secretary.  Emanuel, a former three-term congressman who served as Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff and was a senior adviser in Bill Clinton’s administration, has been a significant force in Democratic Party politics for much of the last three decades. He also turned reviving Chicago’s ragged public transportation system and overhauling the city’s two busy, worn airports into a top issue during his eight years as mayor. Emanuel announced in September 2018 that he would not run for a third term as Chicago mayor, citing a desire to step away from the hectic life of elected office. The decision came as he saw his popularity erode in the city’s large African American community following the McDonald police shooting. The death of McDonald, who was shot 16 times, became a touchstone moment in the ongoing national conversation about racial injustice. He faced rebuke from some Black leaders in the city who accused him and his administration of covering up the shooting. Emanuel denied the coverup allegations but did not run for office again.