President Joe Biden on Friday announced that he plans to nominate veteran US diplomat Nicholas Burns to serve as ambassador to China and former president Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel was a senior adviser in Bill Clinton’s administration.
Biden was initially considering Emanuel, who was Chicago mayor from 2011- 2019 to serve as transportation secretary but was met with fierce opposition from liberal Democrats. Emanuel's nomination comes at a time when Biden wants to strengthen the US-Japan relationship.
The former president Obama, with whom Emanuel shared a camaraderie, was roasted by Obama at a fundraiser in 2005. the former president talked about how Emanuel had learnt the ballet and how it helped him in politics. “He learnt to leap, spin and splay his feet, which leaves us guessing where he is headed, Obama said.
Obama also mentioned how part of Emanuel's finger got severed while working in a deli. “It was his middle finger, which rendered him mute for a while,” the former president said to a room roaring with laughter.
Talking of Emanuel coming from a family where failure wasn't an option, Obama said that Emanuel's kids couldn't be there, as they (who were then aged 7,5 and 3) were preparing for their SATs. Obama even made fun of Emanuel's name-- calling it weird he said, "imagine someone with a name like that winning a seat in the Congress from Illinois."
