Joe and Jill Biden (Adam Schultz/Biden for the President)
President Obama has Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Stone.
President Clinton had Commerce Secretary Noam Mineta, who later became Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush. And then there was the Secretary of Labor, Xiaolan Chao — who was later brought back by President Trump as Secretary of Transportation.
But under President Biden — Cricket.
The Biden administration is the first in 20 years without an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) cabinet secretary, despite U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai holding a cabinet-level position.
This time last year, Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Maggie Hirono of Hawaii said they would block Biden’s cabinet nominee because he has no AAPI representative in his cabinet. They dropped their opposition after the administration announced the creation of a liaison station for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, headed by Erika Moritsugu.
Still, more than a year after he took office, Biden’s cabinet still lacks an AAPI secretary.
The president is coming to the Pacific Northwest this week, visiting Portland and Seattle on his first trip to the region as president. Biden last visited Seattle in November 2019, when he was running in the Democratic presidential primary.
Maybe he forgot who helped him get elected.
Remember when Biden won Georgia by less than 13,000 votes? This small gap is due in part to the state’s historic turnout among AAPI voters.
Yes, Vice President Kamala Harris is of South Asian descent.
But the assertion that the Asian American community doesn’t need others is insulting, and as Duckworth has said before, “That’s not what you say to the black caucus.”
Moriji is off to a good start. We also thank the White House for its initiatives targeting Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, as well as many AAPI community members for their appointments in government.
Now, Mr. President, there are enough qualified people for any secretary position in your cabinet.
It’s about time, and it’s long overdue.
