PUSH INTENSIFIES FOR ASIAN AMERICAN IN CABINET

100 members of Congress send letter to transition team

More than 100 members of Congress are making a final push for President-elect Joe Biden to choose an Asian American or Pacific Islander Cabinet secretary, saying that not doing so would be an unacceptable omission after each of the last four administrations included at least one.

“Although you promised to build the most diverse Cabinet in history, AAPIs have so far been excluded from the 15 Cabinet Secretary slots that oversee executive departments and are responsible for shaping and implementing your Administration’s policies,” the lawmakers stated in a joint letter sent to the transition, one of many missives members of Congress have delivered to Biden’s team in recent weeks.

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus sent the letter to Biden’s transition team sounding the alarm after fearing that none of the remaining Cabinet-level positions would be filled with an Asian American or Pacific Islander nominee. It was signed by more than 100 members of Congress, including non-caucus members.

A similar letter sent the previous week had been cosigned by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the

Congressional Black Caucus The need for diversity at the highest levels is not for the sake of optics. It’s about ensuring all experiences are ref lected in our decision making,” the newest letter stated. “And ... when we have diverse leaders in positions of power, it leads to more inclusive policies that better serve the entirety of our country.”

The letter followed conversations the transition had with Julie Su, California’s labor chief, about a position with the administration in the Labor Department, including possibly deputy secretary of labor, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

A Su spokeswoman declined a request for comment Wednesday, and a spokesman for the Biden transition team would not discuss her. The transition team has had conversations with multiple candidates that can include the possibility of a number of positions within the departments for which they are being considered, according to a source close to the transition who spoke on the condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to speak on the matter.

“President-elect Biden is working to build an administration that looks like America, starting with the first woman of South Asian descent and first Black woman to be Vice President-elect, as well as a historic slate of diverse nominees and appointees, to date. He will continue to deliver upon this vision over the coming weeks as he shapes the most diverse Cabinet in history,” transition spokesman Jamal Brown said in a statement.

While most of his Cabinet nominees have been selected, Biden has yet to announce his picks for labor secretary, commerce secretary and attorney general, and transition officials said Wednesday they did not expect additional Cabinet announcements until after the new year.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, reportedly one of the leading contenders for labor secretary, told reporters Wednesday that he had “not been talking to anyone in the Biden Administration” but sidestepped the question of offered whether the .“he position. would accept if

“I love being the mayor of Boston,” he said at a news conference.

When asked about the pressure to name an AAPI secretary, Biden transition officials have repeatedly pointed not only to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, whose mother was from India, but also to the selection of Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative and Neera Tanden as the nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, both Cabinet-level roles. Vivek Murthy, whose parents, like Harris’s and Tanden’s, were from India, has been named Biden’s surgeon general-designate, though the role is not a Cabinet-level one.