Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Joe Biden’s pledge to appoint a diverse Cabinet faces several tests.
People of color seeking representation under president-elect
WASHINGTON — Native Americans are urging President-elect Joe Biden to make history by selecting one of their own to lead the powerful agency that oversees the nation’s tribes, setting up one of several looming tests of Biden’s pledge to have a Cabinet representative of Americans.
O.J. Semans is one of dozens of tribal officials and voting activists around the country pushing selection of Rep. Deb Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat and member of the Pueblo of Laguna, to become the first Native American secretary of interior.
African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and other people of color played a crucial role in helping Biden defeat President Donald Trump. In return, they say they want attention on problems affecting their communities — and want to see more people who look like them in positions of power.
“It’s nice to know that a Native American is under consideration,” said Haaland, who added that she is concentrating on her congressional work. “Sometimes we are invisible.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., cochair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said it was important that Biden’s Cabinet “reflects the country, and particularly his base that supports him,” including women, racial and ethnic minorities and other groups.
The departments of defense, state, treasury, interior, agriculture, energy and health and human services and the Environmental Protection Agency are among Biden’s Cabinet-level posts where women and people of color are considered among the top contenders. As with interior, where retiring New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall is thought to be a leading prospect, the candidacies of people of color are sometimes butting up against higher-profile white candidates.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, whose February endorsement of Biden played a critical role in reviving the former vice president’s struggling campaign, said he is confident Biden’s Cabinet and White House staff will reflect the nation’s diversity.
“I think Joe Biden has demonstrated he takes the concerns of African Americans seriously,” said Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress. “I expect him to be Lyndon Baines Johnson-like on civil rights.”
Biden has promised to pick a diverse leadership team. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will be the nation’s first female, first Black and first Asian American vice president.