[ad_1]
Until now, no government in the history of the United States has equaled the ethnic and gender composition of the American people. No woman has been a Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of State of the United States, who handles issues related to former members of the Armed Forces, reports the BBC.
In December, Joe Biden said that his administration will represent the American people better than ever. As for his nominations, he seems, according to CNN, to be right.
Figures from the US television company show that half of the nominees (50 percent) are not white. That’s a clearly higher percentage than the Obama administration (41 percent) and significantly higher than the Trump administration (17 percent). Vice President Kamala Harris pushes boundaries in a number of ways: She is not only the first woman in office, but also the first to be black and of South Asian descent.
When it comes to gender representation, Biden is also at the forefront with 54 percent men and 46 percent women. That compares with 83 percent of men / 17 percent of women for Trump and 68 percent of men / 32 percent of women for Obama.
Erik Åsard, Professor Emeritus in North American Studies from Uppsala University, says the result is not so surprising because Biden already during the election campaign said that he wants a government that reflects American society.
– He put enough pressure on him. The ethnic dimension is one aspect, women and men another. Then we’ll see if he goes through all the seats in the Senate, he says.
According to Åsard, ethnicity was not a priority at all when Trump formed his government.
– That discussion didn’t take place at all then.
The question is what the unusually great diversity in the Biden administration will mean for politics in the next four years. Åsard has a hard time answering that question and thinks it will work out. At the same time, he lists three ministers who are particularly interesting given their backgrounds.
One is the 60 year old lawyer Deb Haaland from the state of New Mexico, who belongs to the Laguna Pueblo tribe and is nominated as Minister of the Interior. If she gets the go-ahead from the Senate, she will be the First Minister of the Interior for the Native American population. This is very interesting considering that she will later be the minister responsible for federal land properties.
– Historically, land has been a controversial issue between indigenous people and the federal state. The state has always acted and there are high hopes among that population group for a more equitable and just policy.
Another person who can write history is economist Janet Yellen, 74, nominated for finance minister.
– It will be very interesting to see if she will make a special mark on fiscal policy if she becomes Prime Minister of Finance.
Finally, former General Lloyd Austin has been nominated for Secretary of Defense and may become the first black person in office.
– In that case, he will be the head of a social area, the Armed Forces, which has come a long way in integrating blacks. There are a lot of black officers and it will be interesting to see if he continues with that personnel policy, to include minorities.
