Insulting and frustrating : Community leaders decry lack of Asian Americans in Biden s top Cabinet picks Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY
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Things were looking up for the rapidly growing Asian American electorate after the 2020 election.
Voter turnout in the community had been bigger than ever before, and Joe Biden, the candidate most had supported, had won the presidency. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, Biden’s vice president, was of South Asian heritage.
So when Biden – whose Cabinet is shaping up to be the most diverse in U.S. history – failed to name a single Cabinet secretary of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent, the backlash was bitter – and compounded by a longstanding sense of feeling left out of federal decision-making. Every presidential Cabinet since 2000 has included an Asian American until now.
Biden s domestic Cabinet picks pledge to use federal powers to aid those struggling during Covid pandemic msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
California Labor Secretary Julie Su has declined to publicly discuss the role. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
California labor secretary in serious contention for Biden Cabinet
SACRAMENTO, Calif. California s labor secretary began her legal career fighting for Thai garment workers held captive in a Los Angeles sweatshop. Decades later, she s in serious contention to join the Biden administration as secretary of the U.S. Labor Department, according to sources familiar with transition discussions.
Julie Su, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a longtime advocate for low-wage workers, would step into the role as the country reels from an economic crisis that has disproportionately burdened women, people of color and workers with less education.