Raimondo is the first woman governor of Rhode Island, and has served in the role since her election in 2014. She was among the women considered to serve as Biden’s vice president, and has been praised for her leadership amid the coronavirus pandemic.
She is currently under quarantine after a close contact tested positive for Covid-19, but that is expected to end Friday. Like other nominees who are near Biden, she would have to test negative to be at any announcement event with him.
At the same time as commerce secretary, Biden is also planning to unveil leaders for the Labor Department and the Small Business Administration.
Guzman is currently the Director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, a government office that works to support and grow small businesses in America’s most populous state. Prior to taking over the state office, Guzman was the deputy chief of staff and senior adviser at the US Small Business Administration, the office she will now lead.
Biden is expected to lean on his commerce secretary to rebuild relationships with a business community that has had a sometimes fractured relationship with the Trump White House. While the Republican President has often touted support from different businesses, pro-business groups like the Chamber of Commerce have often been critical of Trump.
Prior to serving as governor, Raimondo was elected to serve as general treasurer of Rhode Island in 2010. She also co-founded Point Judith Capital, an early stage venture capital firm.
Raimondo was the first governor to back New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 Democratic presidential bid and joined his campaign as a national co-chair. She later backed Biden’s presidential bid after Bloomberg dropped out of the race.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Dan Merica, Gregory Krieg, Arlette Saenz and Jessica Dean contributed to this report.
— to www.cnn.com
