Asian Americans are on the shortlist to fill positions on President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet, after unprecedented amounts of Asian candidates won multiple 2020 races, be it for city council or Congress.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Arun Majumdar, and Julie Su are all possible contenders, Politico reports. The news organization compiled names of potential nominees from conversations with Biden aides, allies, staff, and more.
Illinoian Sen. Tammy Duckworth may be selected for the Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Veteran Affairs position, according to The Baltimore Sun. If chosen, the former Army lieutenant colonel and Iraq veteran would become the first Thai American Cabinet member.
Duckworth was also considered to be a potential running mate for Biden back in July, an AsAmNews article reports.
“The Biden campaign has their own process that they’re going through and I’m sure Vice President Biden will pick the right person to be next to him,” Duckworth said at the time.
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Dr. Vivek Murthy may be in line to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Politico reports. Murthy was appointed surgeon general under the Obama administration and currently co-chairs Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board.
According to NPR, Murthy is working with Biden to implement a mask mandate nationwide.
“The worse this pandemic gets, there are more leaders, elected leaders, who are coming around to the fact that as unpalatable as these mandates might be, they are important and they actually work,” Murthy said, NPR reports.
Julie Su and Arun Majumdar are potential candidates for Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Energy respectively, Politico reports. Su is currently California’s Secretary of Labor, while Majumdar is a Stanford University engineering professor.
While he’s not on the Politico’s short list, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has expressed interest in a Cabinet-level position, Time reports.
“I’ve been a CEO, and I like to get things done,” Yang said, according to Time. “There could be cabinet roles that also resemble that, in that I’m very passionate about the fact that we need to get our federal government caught up to technology issues, where they’re decades behind the curve.”
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Andrew Yang should be a cabinet member!
Yes, Asian Americans appointed only as tokens in a Biden administration. Hard to believe any Asian Americans voted for Biden/Harris. Reminder: Biden’s infamous remark about Indians in 7/11 Stores in Delaware (“you have to speak with a slight Indian accent”). Yikes!