Two prominent progressive groups, the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats, on Wednesday urged President-elect Joe Biden to name left-leaning allies including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders to top government posts, firing an opening salvo in the left's campaign to exert influence over Biden's agenda.Underscoring one of their most significant priorities, the groups also called on Biden to create a new office dedicated to climate change that reports directly to the president.The public appeals from the Sunrise Movement, a group of young climate organizers, and Justice Democrats, a grassroots organization that has helped elect people like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signal the beginning of the left's intense efforts to pressure Biden over the makeup of his executive branch and his administration's immediate priorities.Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York TimesAnd the move represents the end of a truce between Biden and progressives, who had united behind his candidacy during the presidential campaign with the mission of defeating President Donald Trump but who have deep ideological and generational differences.The recommendations amount to something of a moon shot, and Biden, a longtime moderate, is very unlikely to choose many of the names put forward, if he picks any at all. Some of the recommendations are also unlikely to go anywhere with Democratic Party leaders if the appointments could possibly put Senate seats at risk; Sanders and Warren come from states led by Republican governors, and it is not clear who would fill their seats if they became vacant.Many of the names appear intended to serve more as a message to Biden and Senate Democrats that the progressive groups are serious about pushing him and his administration leftward and will not be content with strictly moderate nominees who appear intended to win over Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Republicans.Already, some liberal activist groups have warned Biden about backsliding on his commitment to progressive policies since he was declared the winner of the election Saturday. And with control of the Senate still unclear, progressives have shifted their focus to figuring out how they can persuade Biden to enact progressive policies through the executive branch, using executive orders and by appointing leaders to positions that act, in effect, as gatekeepers for policy."President-elect Biden must embrace this historic moment by keeping the party united and appointing progressive leaders who will help him usher in the most progressive Democratic administration in generations," Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, said in a statement.The list of recommendations, for 13 key government positions, includes well-known progressive allies, some of whom would most likely be palatable to Democrats across the spectrum.Still, some of the people on the list are sure to cause consternation in the party's moderate wing.Among the leaders the groups are pressing Biden to appoint, for instance, are Warren as Treasury secretary and Sanders as labor secretary -- both standard-bearers of the progressive movement whose policies are viewed by some Democrats as too extreme.Warren and Sanders are both said to be interested in the jobs. But appointing them to top government posts would be complicated by the fact that the states they represent, Massachusetts and Vermont, are led by Republican governors, and Democrats would want to make sure that any replacements would caucus with them to keep the balance of the Senate intact.Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont said last month that if Sanders were appointed to the Cabinet, he would choose an independent who would caucus with the Democrats as a replacement. And progressives have argued that the Democratic-controlled legislature in Massachusetts could try to change state law to ensure a Democrat would temporarily replace Warren.Also on the groups' list:-- Rep. Barbara Lee of California for secretary of state-- Keith Ellison, attorney general of Minnesota, for attorney general-- Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, one of the four congresswomen known as the Squad, for secretary of housing and urban development-- Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, for secretary of health and human services-- Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico for secretary of the interior-- Rep. Chuy Garcia of Illinois for secretary of transportation-- Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine for secretary of agriculture-- Economist Joseph Stiglitz for director of the National Economic Council-- Darrick Hamilton, an economist and the executive director of the Kirwan Institute at Ohio State University, for chair of the Council of Economic Advisers-- Mustafa Ali, vice president of environmental justice, climate and community revitalization for the National Wildlife Federation, for administrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyAs part of their list of recommendations, the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats are also urging Biden to create a White House Office of Climate Mobilization to coordinate climate efforts across the government, and to appoint as its leader either Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, whose presidential campaign last year centered on climate change; Gina McCarthy, an EPA administrator under President Barack Obama; or John Podesta, founder of the Center for American Progress, who was an adviser to Obama on climate change. The proposal for the office was part of a sweeping set of recommendations put forth by Biden-Sanders joint policy task forces over the summer.In addition to their top choices for each high-level position, the groups also provided alternative options, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, who served as deputy secretary of the Treasury under Obama, for Treasury secretary; Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey for secretary of agriculture; Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union, for secretary of transportation; and Rep. Ro Khanna for secretary of state.That the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats, the two groups that perhaps most represent the next generation of left-wing activists, have publicly offered their recommendations just days after Biden was declared the president-elect with a victory in Pennsylvania reflects the urgency with which progressives are now approaching the soon-to-be Biden administration.Also Wednesday, the Human Rights Campaign, one of the nation's largest advocacy organizations for LGBTQ people, is releasing a 24-page blueprint for administrative action.The centerpiece of the group's request is a call to apply the Supreme Court's June decision in a case called Bostock vs. Clayton County, Georgia, which found that protections on the basis of sex apply to LGBTQ people across the federal government.The blueprint also includes requests that Biden appoint the nation's first openly LGBTQ Cabinet officials; order the collection of data about LGBTQ people in the census; rescind the Trump administration's ban on transgender people in the military; and end conversion therapy and the prohibition on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, among a litany of other requests."We're looking for the administration to make good on their promises," said Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "This blueprint is a step forward from where we were before Trump."Before the election, progressives had been optimistic that Biden would embrace left-leaning policies, citing his willingness to form the joint policy task forces with allies of Sanders after he dropped out of the presidential race in April. Many also noted Biden's leftward shift since the primaries on issues like climate, health care and education.Yet as the results of the election became clear and it appeared that Democrats would face an uphill battle to take control of the Senate, the party as a whole and progressives in particular have had to adjust to the possible need to lower their expectations for the next two years. Still, the left wing of the party has wasted no time in insisting that Biden be accountable to the groups that helped deliver him to the White House, including Black voters and young people."Democrats have a once-in-a-generation moment to deliver policies at the scale of the crises our generation is facing," Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said in a statement.She added, "Young people helped deliver this historic majority to Joe Biden. The Senate can't be an excuse; whether or not Mitch McConnell remains the majority leader, we need an Office of Climate Mobilization and visionary personnel in the Biden administration who are ready to use every tool in their disposal to create millions of good-paying green jobs."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company