Duckworth backs off threat to oppose Biden nominees over lack of Asian American

Long-simmering Democratic tensions over a lack of Asian American representation in President Joe Biden’s administration boiled over Tuesday evening when Duckworth vowed to block future Biden picks without a White House plan to tap more nominees of Asian American descent.

Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and the first Thai American woman in Congress, said it was “unacceptable” that Biden has named no Asian American Cabinet secretaries and vowed to oppose nominees on the floor “until they figure this out.” Her gambit could have been a substantial obstacle to any future Biden nominees in the 50-50 Senate.

Duckworth told reporters that a Monday evening call between Senate Democrats and Biden aides was the “trigger” for her holdup plans. After she asked about Asian American representation in the Biden administration, Duckworth recalled, White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon made a reference to Vice President Kamala Harris’ South Asian American heritage that the senator called “incredibly insulting.”

Duckworth’s promised opposition — which she said would not have included “diversity nominees” like those backed by the Congressional Asian Pacific American, Hispanic, or Black Caucuses — came as Asian American lawmakers and advocates expressed frustration about their lack of representation in Biden’s Cabinet. Members of the Hill’s Asian Pacific American Caucus had pushed for nominees like Vivek Murthy and Julie Su to be appointed as Cabinet secretaries, but Murthy ended up nominated as Surgeon General and Su as the deputy Labor secretary.

Although none of Biden’s Cabinet secretaries are of Asian American or Pacific Islander descent, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai is of Chinese American descent and technically occupies a Cabinet-level position. The nomination of Neera Tanden, who is Indian American, to become Biden’s budget chief fell apart after opposition from Republican senators and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Another Asian American Democratic senator, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, said later Tuesday that “I am prepared to join” Duckworth in pushing back on Biden’s nominees until senior posts in his administration incorporate better Asian American representation.

“This is not about pitting one diversity group against another,” Hirono said on MSNBC. “I think this is a well-articulated, focused position.”

But Hirono said in a statement later Thursday she would drop her planned opposition to Biden’s nominees following a “productive” conversation with the White House about diversity.

Asked Tuesday about the senators’ threats, Biden told reporters, “We have the most diverse Cabinet in history. We have a lot of Asian Americans that are in the Cabinet and in sub-Cabinet levels.”

White House senior adviser Cedric Richmond on Tuesday evening said the administration has been “very consistent that we value diversity,” pointing to the roles of Murthy, Tai and Harris. Related to Tanden’s nomination, he quoted a Biden refrain: “Show me your budget, and I will show you your values.”

“We are appointing more Asian Americans to key positions, so we’re very confident that we will continue to do that,”…