President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Commerce Department said Wednesday if confirmed she will take much of what she has learned improving her home state of Rhode Island's economy and apply it at the federal level.

"Right before COVID, Rhode Island had a record number of jobs and the lowest unemployment rate in 30 years, and when I ran for governor we had the highest unemployment rate in the country," Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said at a news conference.

Raimondo was elected governor in 2014 and won reelection in 2018.

Under her administration, thousands of people retrained for ne...