Sen. Tammy Duckworth says she'll vote no on Biden nominees until White House taps Asian candidates

Tammy Duckworth.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is frustrated with the lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in the Biden administration, and on Tuesday she said it'll cost them her vote on "all non-diversity nominees" until they reverse course and select Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for key executive branch positions.

President Biden has made a point of trying to create a diverse Cabinet, but Duckworth has criticized its makeup, noting that none of the 15 secretaries are of Asian or Pacific Island descent. Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai are both Asian American and hold Cabinet-level positions, but they are not considered Cabinet secretaries, Axios notes.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who is also of Asian descent, said she's considering following Duckworth's lead. Read more at Axios.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.