White House expected to name Erika Moritsugu as Asian American and Pacific Islander liaison
The expected announcement comes less than a month after the White House committed to naming a senior-level AAPI liaison following pressure from Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, both Democrats who expressed frustration with the lack of AAPI representation in the Cabinet and top administration roles and threatened to block the nominations of non-diverse administration picks.
Moritsugu was a vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families and led the organization’s Economic Justice team. She previously was an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration and has extensive experience on Capitol Hill, including having served as a general counsel to Duckworth.
Biden to name Asian American-Pacific Islander liaison
by Alexandra Jaffe, The Associated Press
Posted Apr 14, 2021 5:54 pm EDT
Last Updated Apr 14, 2021 at 5:58 pm EDT
WASHINGTON President Joe Biden will name Erika Moritsugu, a Capitol Hill veteran and vice-president of a women’s rights advocacy group, as his liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, according to two sources familiar with the decision.
Biden committed to creating a senior-level role focused on the AAPI community after he received criticism from Democratic Sens. Tammy of Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii for the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in his cabinet. The two senators threatened to hold up his nominees unless Biden remedied the situation, but reversed their stance after the White House said it would create the position.
White House to name Erika Moritsugu to Asian American liaison position By Weijia Jiang, Jack Turman
April 14, 2021 / 4:48 PM / CBS News
The Biden administration is expected Thursday to announce Erika Moritsugu to a senior-level Asian American liaison position, according to sources familiar with the decision making.
The White House committed to creating the new role amid pressure from Democratic Senators Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii over the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in the president s Cabinet and in senior roles in the administration.
In March, the lawmakers threatened to oppose President Biden s nominees who were not diverse until the Biden administration would elevate Asian American voices to more senior roles in the government. After conversations with the White House, both senators dropped their pledge to withhold confirming non-diverse nominees.
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