Lawmakers demand Biden include Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders in Cabinet

Members of Congress are demanding Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet.

In a letter from the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus sent to Biden on Saturday, lawmakers urged the president-elect to ensure that members of the racial groups constitute at least 7 percent of Cabinet-level and other appointed personnel within the federal workforce, reflective of their proportion in the U.S.

No Asian American and Pacific Islander candidates have been announced thus far aside from Vice-president-elect Kamala Harris.

The lawmaker pointed out that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders showed up to the ballot box in record numbers this year.

The lawmaker said that no one person could ever be completely representative of the entirety of the Asian American and Pacific Islander population, especially given its unique diversity with its dozens of ethnic groups and languages

The legislators have been joined by a chorus of community leaders who are also demanding proper representation within Biden’s Cabinet, including Madalene Mielke, president & CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, David Inoue, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League, and Thu Nguyen, director of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates

“For months, as discussions finally began to grapple with the deadly consequences of racial health disparities, Pacific Islanders and other Asian American communities were largely ignored,” they wrote in a statement