With a Joe Biden victory in Michigan last night and his certain landslide victory in Florida next week, the Democratic presidential sweepstakes is all but over.  The former vice president is on track both for the Democratic presidential nomination and a landslide victory over Donald Trump, whose mendacity, incompetence, and rank insensitivity have become manifest as never before in his handling of the coronavirus crisis.

So the speculation over Biden’s vice-presidential nomination selection and Cabinet selections may begin in earnest.  If Joe were to ask me for some recommendations for prospective Cabinet nominees from New Jersey, the following would be my list:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Administrator: Jim Florio

Donald Trump has harmed America in many ways, but in no area has he damaged America with such potential for permanency as in the environmental realm.  His deliberate disregard of climate science has increased the likelihood of planetary endangerment.  His reckless abrogation of regulations protecting air, water, and land threatens public health and quality of life.  He has transformed America into a polluter’s paradise where polluters are coddled and their victims are abandoned.

He has reduced severely the resources allocated to the agency charged with the protection of the environment, the EPA.  Furthermore, he has demoralized the outstanding EPA career personnel that made America for fifty years a model of environmental governance.

Biden’s EPA Administrator will have the daunting task of reviewing and revising all deleterious Trump measures, ramping up environmental enforcement, and restoring agency morale.  There is no person better equipped for this challenge than Jim Florio, the author of the Superfund legislation and the leading American political figure in the environmental realm over the past half century.

Florio’s administrative acumen, issue incisiveness, and unimpeachable ethics are proven by his past record as a member of the House of Representatives and Governor of New Jersey.  The question that will be raised is his age, 82.  As one who recently turned 70, I can say conclusively that 82 is the new 62.  Furthermore, Biden himself will be 78 at the time of his inauguration and unlikely to view Florio’s age as a disqualification.

Florio’s wife, Lucinda will become a very beloved figure in Washington.  She also looks out for the best interests of the former governor, and I would suggest that Biden first call her to get her input before offering his longtime friend Jim the job.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs:  Rodney Frelinghuysen

Biden has stated that he wants to include Republicans in key positions within his administration.  Rodney’s outstanding record in both the New Jersey General Assembly and as a member of the House of Representatives qualifies him as an ideal Biden administration Republican appointee.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is in horrific shape in the era of Trump.  Rodney acquired major expertise on veterans’ matters during his tenure on the House Appropriations Committee. He also is a distinguished veteran of the Vietnam War.  Rodney is the ideal person to clean up the mess at the VA.

Full disclosure:  I am proud to say that as a high level executive in both State and Federal government, I worked very closely with Rodney.  As a columnist for InsiderNJ, I have become friendly with the current Executive Director of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee Saily Avelenda, who was Rodney’s chief antagonist during his last term in the House of Representatives.

Until now, neither Rodney nor Saily knew about my relationship with the other.  I hope they will both still talk to me after the publication of this column.

Defense Secretary:  Mikie Sherrill

This is a political grand slam home run for Joe Biden.

Mikie, the Congresswoman representing the New Jersey 11th District in the US House of Representatives, is ideally qualified for this appointment, both in terms of military experience and academic erudition.

She is a Naval Academy graduate and a former Navy helicopter pilot.  In that capacity, she flew missions throughout Europe and the Middle East. She also served as a Russian policy advisor on the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S.Navy, Europe.

Mikie has a Master of Science degree from the supremely prestigious London School of Economics and a Law Degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.  Her success as an Assistant US Attorney for New Jersey demonstrated her ultimate versatility.

Mikie would be the first woman to be appointed as Secretary of Defense.  Such an appointment would win Joe Biden universal acclaim among the women of America.  It would also result in Mikie being on the short list for a presidential candidacy in the post-Biden era.

Her appointment would mean that there would be two leading Democratic names for a future presidential run:  Joe Kennedy III, who is likely to be elected US Senator from Massachusetts this November and Mikie Sherrill.  How about a 2032 Sherrill-Kennedy or Kennedy-Sherrill ticket: Take your choice!

I think this appointment may well happen.  As a former Lieutenant in the US Navy JAG Corps, I’m rooting for it!

Attorney General. Paul Fishman

Bill Barr has been the worst Attorney General in the history of the United States.  He has served with a total lack of ethics and a blatant disregard of the Constitution.

In my career as an attorney in private and corporate practice and as a high ranking state and federal official, I found the career attorneys in the US Department of Justice to be the most impressive of all, even more impressive than major Wall Street law firm lawyers.

As with the EPA career officials, the morale of Justice Department career attorneys was severely damaged by the William Barr Reign of Terror.  A President Biden will need to appoint an Attorney General with major Justice Department experience and demonstrated competency to restore the morale and eminence of the Justice Department.  Paul Fishman, former US Attorney for New Jersey and career Justice Department attorney would be ideal in this role.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Cory Booker

Under the current Secretary Ben Carson, HUD is a vast wasteland which has largely abandoned its original fair housing purposes. US Senator and former Newark Mayor Cory Booker can restore HUD to its original mission.

There is another purpose to be served by a Biden appointment of Booker.  If Joe Biden hasn’t yet read the epic Doris Kearns Goodwin book, Team of Rivals, he should.  The book described how Abraham Lincoln enhanced the quality of his Cabinet by appointing his rivals for the 1860 Republican presidential nomination to key positions.  The appointment by Biden of his center-left rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, such as Booker, to key Cabinet positions can enable him to build his own “Team of Rivals.”

Secretary of State: Bob Menendez

From a policy point of view, the appointment of New Jersey US Senator Bob Menendez makes abundant good sense.  His expertise on foreign policy issues is unsurpassed by that of any US Senator over the past five decades.  Bob Menendez typifies the centrist internationalist tradition that has served the Democratic Party so well in the recent past.

As a fervent supporter of the State of Israel, I would rejoice in the appointment as Secretary of State of Bob Menendez, one of the strongest supporters of Israel in the Senate since its creation in 1948.  His appointment would signify a victory over the Democratic Party forces of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib who wish to 1) end the traditional Democratic Party support for Israel; and 2) destroy the American-Israel Alliance.

I doubt, however, that this appointment will ever happen.  The reason is the corruption charges for which Menendez was tried and received a mistrial, due to a hung jury in 2018.

To be sure, Menendez was never convicted of the charges and is entitled to maintain the presumption of innocence.  In the view of his fellow Senators, however, the mistrial disposition does not constitute a clean bill of health.  Menendez cannot be confirmed by the Senate.

He will, however, receive a consolation prize.  The Democrats will regain control of the Senate this year, and Bob Menendez will become the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Treasury Secretary or Federal Reserve Chair:  Phil Murphy

The New Jersey Governor is uniquely qualified for either position, due to his Wall Street experience in international finance.  Phil likes being the Governor of New Jersey, however, and is in a strong position for reelection in 2021.

Accordingly, he is likely to turn down any offer to join the Biden administration. Nevertheless, Joe Biden should try to persuade him otherwise.

Alan J. Steinberg served as regional administrator of Region 2 EPA during the administration of former President George W. Bush and as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.