President-elect Joe Biden repeatedly promised an administration that looks like the United States of America, and he made a huge initial step on that when he chose Kamala Harris as his vice president. But Black, Latino, and Asian American lawmakers and activists are warning Biden that the senior administration officials he’s chosen so far are falling short of that promise.
The only Black members Biden has named to his Cabinet so far are Linda Greenfield-Thomas as ambassador to the United Nations and Cecilia Rouse as head of the Council of Economic Advisers. Notably, while both will be members of Biden’s Cabinet, both are in roles that Donald Trump had demoted from being cabinet-level, highlighting the fact that these aren’t the most powerful roles in a presidential Cabinet. Last week, before the announcement of Rouse, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn expressed disappointment, saying “so far it’s not good.”
Similarly, Biden has chosen Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant, as his homeland security secretary, but Latino lawmakers and activists are pressing for more representation, and more diversity of Latino representation.
“When we talk about diversity, we also need to talk about diversity within the Hispanic community,” Rep. Raul Ruiz told Politico. “The vast majority of Hispanics in the U.S. are Mexican Americans, so it would be important and helpful to have them represented in nominations. The Puerto Rican and Cuban American and Dominican American experiences are also important and should also be reflected.”
Biden’s election results also showed work to be done with Latino voters, and this could be a moment to start that work.
”When Republicans are coming into our districts saying, 'what have the Democrats done for you?' And we have a Democratic president with a low showing or low representation of Latinos in his Cabinet and government, it is a tough response,” said Rep. Vicente González. “I don't want to have to defend that.”
Asian American and Pacific Islander advocates, too, are looking with some disappointment at Biden’s choices so far—and pushing him for more diversity. “We just want to make sure that the Biden administration—and we’ve conveyed this from Day One—has a diverse representation, and that diversity includes AAPIs,” said Rep. Grace Meng. “That’s not always fully understood.”
Biden has time to expand the diversity of his top officials. But it will need to be top officials—not white people, and white men in particular, at the very top while communities of color are represented mainly at lower levels.