Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii will join Duckworth in the opposition nominated in the plenary until there is a move by the White House to diversify management with Asian-American nominations.
“To hear that you have Kamala Harris, we are very proud of her, you don’t need anyone else, it is an insult,” Duckworth told CNN, adding that the White House told him “several times”.
“This is not something you would say to the black caucus – that you have Kamala – we are not going to put any African Americans in the office – why would you say that to AAPIs?”
If the two Democratic senators continue with the threat, the confrontational position could put executive power and judicial choices at risk in a 50-50 Senate if all Republicans vote against one of the president’s nominees – and the action is already putting it in jeopardy. danger for a top Pentagon to choose.
Democratic senators are indicating that they will vote against non-minority nominees in the plenary, not the committee, which could allow Kahl to move out of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Duckworth told CNN on Tuesday that she is voting “no” on all of Biden’s next nominees until the president commits himself and nominates Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for important executive positions. Duckworth was the first Thai-American woman elected to Congress and the first double amputee in the United States Senate.
“President Biden will be the first president in 20 years without an AAPI cabinet secretary,” a frustrated Duckworth told CNN.
Hirono told reporters about the decision: “It means that we would like to have a commitment from the White House that there will be more diversity representation in the Cabinet and in senior positions in the White House. And until that happens, we will be able to join it. in voting not on non-diversity nominees. I think it’s a reasonable position. “
Biden defended his cabinet choices on Tuesday amid criticism.
“We have the most diverse cabinet in history. We have many Asian Americans who are in the cabinet and the sub-cabinet. Our cabinet is formed,” Biden told reporters before heading to Air Force One in Ohio.
Duckworth praised Biden’s comments at a Democratic retreat on Monday night about violence against Americans of Asian descent, but after he hung up, things became controversial when White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, addressed concerns about AAPI’s lack of representation.
“When I asked about the AAPI representation in the second half, the first words that came out of the team’s mouth were: ‘We are very proud of Vice President Harris’, which was incredibly insulting,” said Duckworth.
She said that until there are AAPI nominees for vacant positions – such as OMB, or the Federal Communications Commission – or a commitment to future cabinet secretaries, she is not entitled to vote.
“Until then, I am a non-voter in all non-diversity nominees,” she said, including sub-cabinet choices and judicial nominees. She said she would support racial minorities and LGBTQ nominees.
After informing the White House, Duckworth said, “They will contact me.”
Duckworth is not the only Democratic senator upset with the government because of the lack of diversity and talking about it publicly.
At the same retreat on Monday, Hirono criticized the White House for its lack of Asian American representation in the Biden Cabinet, adding that it was not satisfied with Dillon’s response.
“What I said was that I shared the position that the AAPI community has that there was not a significant number of AAPIs at the cabinet level,” said Hirono. “I know we have Katherine Tai, but I don’t think the sales representative is what the community understands as the cabinet level.”
She also said she raised concerns that the White House was sharing polls about voter views in Biden and its agenda, but that the polls did not adequately represent the views of the community.
“I also pointed out that one of the concerns that I have whenever there is research done on the position of various groups, I would like to see in a consistent way, the AAPI community being researched,” said Hirono, who is a Japanese-American. “And I said that last night.”
Hirono added: “It is everyone’s problem. … And when they are introduced to the research, I would like to see who is being researched, who asked these questions. And my main point was that the AAPI community should be consulted.”
Asked whether White House officials recognized that they would change anything, Hirono said: “What I heard was that they were actually included. I said, no, consistently. I told them. I gave examples of why. And so onwards For me, the main point is if you consider this to be an important group of people, they should be constantly questioned about their positions. “
And Hirono was blunt when asked if he was satisfied with the White House’s response.
“No,” she told CNN.
This story and headline were updated with additional developments Tuesday.
CNN’s Priya Krishnakumar, Christina Zdanowicz, Alex Rogers, Sarah Fortinsky and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.