After confronting the White House over representations of Asian descent in high-powered positions, Sen. Tammy Duckworth said that she will vote against any nominee that is not a “diversity nominee.”
“I am not going to be voting for any nominee from the White House other than diversity nominees — probably a no on everyone — until they figure this out,” Duckworth told the Hill press pool on Tuesday.
The Illinois Democrat, who is of Thai heritage and who is a veteran who who lost her legs while deployed in the Middle East, reportedly confronted White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon along with fellow Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii over the lack of Asian Americans in Biden’s Cabinet. She said that she informed the White House of her decision to vote no on “everything other than the diversity candidates.”
“There’s not a single [Asian American or Pacific Islander] in a Cabinet position. That’s not acceptable. That’s what I told the White House,” Duckworth said.
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Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, is not considered part of Biden’s 15-person Cabinet. President Biden did nominate Neera Tanden, who is of Indian descent, to lead the Office of Management and Budget, and the Senate confirmed Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative, but neither of those positions are part of the 15-member Cabinet.
When asked to clarify what she meant by saying she will vote against everyone other than “diversity” nominees, whether that means racial diversity or also gender diversity and sexuality, Duckworth said: “Right now, I’m looking at racial, and obviously, I will take a look at the sexual diversity. But right now, I’m focused on the fact that there’s not enough AAPI representation.”
Duckworth’s position follows last week’s shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, which left eight people dead, including six Asian women, sparking a national debate about discrimination against Asians.
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Duckworth’s position got a thumbs-up from Hirono.
“I think Tammy has made clear a very well-articulated position,” Hirono told reporters.
