Raymond James Washington Policy Analyst Ed Mills joins Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous to discuss the latest political news, as President-elect Biden names more member of his cabinet.

Video Transcript

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: As President Trump forges ahead with his legal challenges to the election, President-elect Biden is busy assembling his cabinet. Here to talk about it is Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. And always good to see you.

So look, Biden made a number of appointments today, but I want to begin with a couple of history-making ones-- naming the first Latino to run Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, and also the first woman as director of national intelligence, Avril Haines. What do you make of these nominations?

ED MILLS: So I think there's a couple of things. In terms of what I see on this list, is what you highlight. This is a record amount of diversity. Different barriers are coming down, in terms of who is serving in these spots.

But secondly, it's what I don't see. I don't see this as a cabinet, at least so far, of rivals. I don't see anyone on this list that is considered a future presidential contender.

But I think that is a combination of two things. One, Joe Biden has 47 years of relationships in Washington DC. There are a number of people who have loyalty to him, that he trusts, that are great operators, that he is liking to give a promotion to. Secondly, he is looking at Senate confirmation, to the extent that these are technocrats-- people who are well-positioned to do the job, rather than politicize anything. That's going to be harder for Republicans to not confirm them come their confirmation in the next couple of months.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Speaking of which, you know, Biden has said he's planning to name his next Treasury secretary this week. He's saying that both sides of the aisle will approve of this person. And of course, rumors are flying that he's going to smash through the glass ceiling and name the first woman to this post. And the smart money is on former Fed Chief Janet Yellen. What are you hearing, and do you think it would be easy for her to get confirmed?

ED MILLS: So if it is Yellen, I do think it would be extraordinarily difficult for the Senate to say no to that. And I think it would be a excellent political choice. Clearly, progressives have been pushing Elizabeth Warren. But with two runoffs to decide the fate of the majority in the Senate, and a Republican would choose the replacement for Elizabeth Warren, she is out of the running.

If you have Yellen, you have a strong signal to the market that the economic recovery is job number one for a Biden administration. And with the CARES Act providing a lot of authority for the Federal Reserve chairman and the secretary of Treasury to work together to provide that bridge to a post-COVID economy, if you have two Fed chiefs working hand in hand, rather than the disagreements we've seen between Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and Fed Chair Powell, that would be an extraordinarily positive sign to the market, and something I think the market would cheer on. And I think a confirmation would be a near given in that state.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: Do you think that Yellen would be the most friendly pick that Biden could make to head the Treasury, or any other name [INAUDIBLE].

ED MILLS: Yeah, so, if the glass ceiling is not broken, I do think that the other candidates that are being discussed would also be historic. Every single person who has been a Treasury secretary in the United States has been a white male. So there are other signals.

Is it TIAA CEO Ferguson, someone who the market would be very comfortable with? Is it Atlanta Fed President Bostic, something that there is also a great deal of comfort? Lael Brainard has been discussed.

One thing that kind of combines everyone, besides a potential historic nature of the pick, is they all have Federal Reserve backing. There has been a strong Fed put to the market, and any of those picks might move that Fed put to the market over to the Treasury Department.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right. Now moving on to the climate. He has named-- or nominated-- political veteran John Kerry to be his climate czar. What might you expect from a John Kerry in that position? And what might it mean for those environmental, sort of, climate-related stocks?

ED MILLS: You know, Alexis, this is the one pick that is probably kind of an area where our listeners and our viewers don't have to Google the name. But it is also one of the few picks that we've discussed that does not require Senate confirmation. And I'm not sure, if it did require Senate confirmation, if that could occur, even with the history and experience that John Kerry has.

I think the job number one for a Climate Czar Kerry would be rejoining the Paris Climate Accords-- something that he personally negotiated, and is a strong signal that climate is at the top of a Biden administration's agenda.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And I do want to touch on Antony Blinken. It was expected he would be nominated as secretary of state. He's an Obama alum. I think he was deputy secretary of state under Obama. What does that pick tell you about Joe Biden's priorities in his administration?

ED MILLS: Yeah, so, Antony Blinken has been described as Joe Biden's alter ego. When Joe Biden was in the Senate, he was the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee for years. He was famously-- had the choice between vice president or secretary of state under Obama.

You know, foreign relations is something really important to Joe Biden. And this pick sends a signal that there is going to be a professional alter ego to Joe Biden who is leading the conversation around the world. That is a Joe Biden agenda. It is nobody else's agenda.

This is not a situation where you take one of the top rivals, such as Secretary Clinton was with Obama, and send her as the voice of America around the world. This is Joe Biden's voice doubling down with all leaders in all conversations worldwide.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: And I've got to get back to the election because a number of key states are set to certify their results this week. You've got Michigan and Pennsylvania today, Nevada tomorrow. I know that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie came out and actually said that Trump not conceding at this point is a quote, "national embarrassment," and he is urging the president to move on. Do you think President Trump will move on once these states certify?

ED MILLS: Alexis, what I've been focused on is what is the market telling me. And I think what we've seen is that the market has moved on. And the market called this election pretty close after November 3. The expectation with investors that I speak to is that there will be a President-elect Biden. They have asked questions about some of the certification, some questions about the mechanics here.

But we have a fairly automatic process in the United States. After certification, the electoral college meets, it gets certified, and come January 20 of next year, someone gets sworn in as president. And if not, a series of-- kind of-- succession goes into place. The term of the incumbent president expires.

So the market is more focused on what is likely to happen, versus these legal strategies, at least in the conversations that I've been having.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: All right. Ed Mills, Washington policy analyst at Raymond James. Thank you, and have a good holiday.

ED MILLS: Thank you. You, too, Alexis.