Time magazine released its list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023 on Thursday, which includes President Biden and also members of his administration: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
Biden was honored in a biography written by Time senior correspondent Brian Bennett, who touted the president’s accomplishments so far in office, such as investing into infrastructure and signing gun-control legislation, as reasons for Biden making the list.
He also hailed Biden’s successes in nominating justices to the judiciary and for nominating Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the highest court, making her the first Black woman to serve on the bench.
Bennett wrote that Biden also reasserted the U.S. globally “by rallying allies around Ukraine.” He pointed out that despite these accomplishments, Biden has seen low polling numbers in an “uncertain economy.”
“The irony for Biden is that many of his accomplishments won’t be fully felt until years after voters have their say in 2024,” Bennett wrote. “Getting that record across will be Biden’s charge as he makes his case for a second term.”
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who served under the Clinton administration, wrote the Time biography for Yellen and praised her response to the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. He wrote that the actions taken under Yellen’s authority after the collapse “brought stability and prevented bank runs.”
“No one else has ever been better prepared to lead the U.S.’s response to a financial crisis than Janet Yellen,” Summers wrote. “The only person in history to serve as the President’s chief economic adviser, the vice chair and chair of the Federal Reserve, and Secretary of the Treasury, Yellen has been at the center of the financial universe for a generation.”
Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed (D) recounted in Raimondo’s biography that he first met the Commerce secretary in 1971 when she was a just a newborn.
“In 1971, my mother had me visit our neighbors to congratulate them on the arrival of their new baby, Gina Marie Raimondo,” Reed wrote. “I had no idea this tiny bundle from a working-class family would become Rhode Island’s first female governor and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.”
Reed, 73, described Raimondo as a ” fierce competitor,” who is “willing to sacrifice her own political fortunes for the greater good.” He pointed to how she spearheaded the CHIPS and Science Act to help boost U.S. microchip production as one of her many accomplishments.
“As Secretary, she is reviving U.S. manufacturing and rebuilding our technological infrastructure,” Reed wrote. “To return the U.S. to being the global leader in microchip production, she deftly shepherded the CHIPS and Science Act through Congress and is building the diverse coalitions needed to supercharge U.S. semiconductor production, fortify supply chains, and strengthen national security.”
“As always, Secretary Raimondo will get the job done, credit others, and embrace the next challenge,” he added.