President-elect Joe Biden is continuing his transition efforts and named members of his agency review teams, including several names from New Mexico.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been a co-chair of Biden’s transition team since September. There has been speculation that she may join the Biden administration. Her chief of staff, John Bingaman, took a leave of absence last month to aid the transition.
Pam Coleman, the Director for the New Mexico State Personnel Office, is a volunteer member of the Department of Homeland Security agency review team. Coleman served in the White House during the Barack Obama administration, including as the White House liaison for DHS.
Dan Arvizu, a chancellor at New Mexico State University, is a volunteer with the Department of Energy agency review team. Arvizu was a director of the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, and a former member of the National Science Board.
Patrick Schaefer, who the transition team says was most recently employed by the state of New Mexico, is a volunteer member of the Department of Commerce and Office of the United States Trade Representative agency review teams.
The transition efforts continue, even as Donald Trump’s administration didn’t start the process after an apparent presidential victory. Trump’s General Services Administration said, without evidence, that there has not yet been a “clear” winner in the race.
Media outlets projected this weekend that Biden won enough electoral votes to secure the presidency.
