Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth backed off her pledge to vote against any of President Biden’s nominees that are not “diversity nominees” following a confrontation with senior White House officials over the lack of Asian Americans in Cabinet positions.
In a statement late Tuesday night, Duckworth’s spokesman Ben Garmisa said:
Duckworth, who is of Thai heritage and a veteran who lost her legs while she was deployed in the Middle East, earlier on Tuesday told reporters that she is “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.”
“I will vote for racial minorities, and I will vote for LGBTQ. But anybody else, I’m not voting for,” Duckworth told the Hill press pool.
Duckworth and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono on Monday night confronted White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon 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.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, is not considered part of Biden’s 15-person Cabinet. 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 position is part of the 15-member Cabinet.
Duckworth told reporters that the initial response to her concerns was to point to Harris and say, “When we’re very proud of, Vice President Harris.”
“That was the trigger for me,” Duckworth told the Hill press pool, adding that the response was “insulting.”
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Duckworth’s backtracking on her threat could have been tested on Wednesday during a confirmation vote of Biden’s nominee to be deputy energy secretary, David Turk, who is expected to be confirmed with bipartisan support.
