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Minority groups are upset with Biden’s choices so far and are pushing him to add diversity to his team.
President-elect Joe Biden promised on Friday that there will be “significant diversity” in his cabinet as he faces criticism from minority groups who are dissatisfied with his elections so far.
“I promise you it will be the most diverse cabinet based on race, color and gender that has ever existed in the United States of America,” Biden said Friday in Wilmington, Delaware, following comments on jobs and the economy.
Black and Latino leaders have expressed concern that the cabinet nominees Biden has revealed so far are not diverse enough, especially in key top positions.
South Carolina U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking African American in the U.S. House of Representatives credited with helping Biden win his status during the Democratic primary, said he’s willing to be patient. , but he’s also not happy at the moment.
“I want to see where the process leads, what it produces,” Clyburn told The Hill newspaper. “But so far, it’s not good.”
But for leaders like NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, it’s not just about the diversity of people, but more about what the Biden administration will represent.
“We believe this administration will be the most diverse administration,” Johnson said in an interview with NBC News on Friday. “Our concern is less about people than about priorities.”
Biden has officially announced eight of his 23 cabinet positions and of those 8, there are five women, including Janet Yellen, who would be the first Secretary of the Treasury in US history. Among those eight are two black women, Linda Thomas-Greenfield for the United States Ambassador to the United Nations and Cecelia Rouse to be chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, as well as Neera Tanden, who is of Indian descent, to be the budget. of Biden. boss. Alejandro Mayorkas, a Latino, is Biden’s choice to be secretary of national security.
Despite Mayorkas’ inclusion, Latino leaders are upset by the way Biden’s team handled New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was long rumored to be one of the top contenders to be his secretary of health and human services (HHS), but was offered the lowest. Secretary slot inside the profile, which she rejected.
A group of Latino lawmakers signed a letter this week, first reported by Axios, urging Biden to elect Grisham, who is of Mexican descent, as HHS secretary.
Black and Latino leaders expect Biden to elect a person of color to one of the two remaining top Cabinet positions: Departments of Defense or Justice. Biden has already named his options for the other two, Treasury and State.
“A real way for Biden to make history would be to nominate a person of color for one or more of those ‘Big Four’ jobs, and now there are only two left,” Janet Murguia, president of UnidosUS told Politico. this week. “So there will be huge scrutiny from both the black and Latino communities for the two remaining jobs, DoD and Justicia, and rightly so.
“The president-elect certainly understands, listens, and welcomes the voices that push him for diversity. This is how we move forward in this country, ”said Kate Bedingfield, who was named Biden’s communications director at the White House, during a conference call with reporters on Friday.
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