Calls from liberal groups for President-elect Joe Biden to appoint far-left leaders and diversify the racial makeup of his administration are growing louder.
A joint statement released by Justice Democrats and the Sunrise Movement on Wednesday tore into Biden after he told NBC News’s Lester Holt on Tuesday that his administration “already [has] significant representation of progressives.”
“While we have been encouraged by some of Joe Biden’s appointments and are largely relieved by who he has not chosen, we do not agree that progressives already have representation in the administration as it stands,” read the joint statement.
In response to Biden telling @LesterHoltNBC “we already have significant representation of progressives in our administration,” @sunrisemvmt and @justicedems beg to differ. pic.twitter.com/mmRdWUbNnv
— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) November 25, 2020
The statement also criticized what the groups claimed was a lack of racial diversity among the candidates still under consideration for other roles.
“We are concerned that many of the future picks currently being floated skew old, white, and male,” the statement said. “Joe Biden promised an administration that looked like and represents the diversity of America.”
The Sunrise Movement is a far-left environmental group with the stated goal of combating the “climate crisis” and has called for radical change, including putting a stop to “white supremacy everywhere.” Justice Democrats is a group that takes credit for getting the liberal “Squad,” including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, elected in 2018.
The joint statement provided a list of liberal Congress members that the group would prefer to see appointed to Biden’s administration, including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, and New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland.
“Progressives make up 40% of the seats Democrats hold in the House of Representatives and serve adequate representation in the next administration,” the statement added.
The statement comes on the same day that a number of liberal groups, including the Sunrise Movement, debuted a website fighting against the potential nomination of Obama-era Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
