Biden could help Dems take Georgia's Senate seats by nominating an AAPI to his Cabinet

Asian Americans helped flip Georgia to Joe Biden last Nov. 3.

ANALYSIS

For all the wrong reasons, the Huffington Post headline grabbed my attention: "Biden Transition Team Won’t Commit To Asian American Cabinet Secretary."

In a meeting with 19 members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus last week, the President-elect Joe Biden's transition team was careful to not show their hand.

AAPI members of Congress want the transition team to acknowledge the support from Asian American voters. They complain that too often, Asian Americans are left out of conversations about a range of policies — including immigration — a source told Vox. There have also been concerns that there were no AAPI co-chairs on Biden’s transition and inauguration efforts.

Numerous sources including Stacey Abrams, the woman most credited for turning out the vote in Georgia, admit that Biden would not have won Georgia if not for the massive turnout of the AAPI electorate. Abrams, numerous AAPI organizations are hoping for a similar turnout on Jan. 5. 

“The surge in Asian American turnout — especially amongst first-time, younger Asian American voters — helped Biden flip the state,” said Sam Park, Georgia’s first Democratic AAPI state legislator. “If Rev. Warnock and Jon Ossoff are to be successful, turnout amongst the Asian American community will be critical.”

At stake is control of the U.S. Senate. if the two Senate seats go to the Democrats, they would have a majority in the Senate and they could remove Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, the major roadblock to the incoming administration passing the legislation to fulfill its campaign promises.

With Georgia's Senate runoff elections only weeks away, Biden could help energize the state's AAPI voters with a selection of an Asian American or two to Cabinet Secretary status and thusly, possibly guarantee a clear road for the Democrats' legislative efforts, if Georgia's Senate seats flip to the Dems.

Biden made history when he picked Indian American Kamala Harris as his running mate. The excitement of his selection swept through the Asian American community produced the highest turnout of AAPI voters ever in the early voting and on Nov. 3 just a few weeks ago. In key districts around the country, the small, but overwhelming preference for Biden and Harris pushed swing districts into the Democrats' camp.

That initial euphoria is gone now. The enticing promises of having a Cabinet that "looked like America"  -- yes, we're including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders along with Blacks and Latinos --- have dissipated into frustration and disappointment. Thus far, most of Biden's Cabinet nominations have gone to the same ol' white men Biden has worked with in the past -- experts in their fields but nevertheless, friends and loyalists.

Thus far, Biden has nominated Neera Tanden — who is the president of the Center for American Progress and is of Indian descent — as director of the Office of Management and Budget; and Katherine Tai as his Trade Representative, both important positions but not one considers as high as a post of Secretary rank.

Tanden's nominations has created the most controversy of all of Biden's picks because she had dared call out the hypocrisy of Republican senators. Her nomination is iffy, at best.

Biden wants Dr. Vivek Murthy, an Indian American, as his Surgeon General but CAPAC members point out that the Surgeon General is not a member of the President's Cabinet. The transition team made it clear that it is not likely the position would be elevated to Cabinet-level, a suggestion made by CAPAC.

Among the names being recommended by CAPAC is California Labor Secretary Julie Su, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a longtime advocate for low-wage workers, to lead Biden’s Labor Department; and California’s transportation chief David Kim as the Department of Transportation Secretary..

The Caucus points out that previous administrations -- even Trump's -- have had more AAPI representation among Cabinet Secretaries:  three in the Obama administration; two in the Trump administration.

“It is vital that those in the highest positions in the executive branch of government reflect the great diversity of our nation, and that includes the selection of AAPIs for Cabinet positions,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), the first vice chair of CAPAC, told Vox in a statement. “The Biden administration should not go backwards. It should be more diverse and inclusive than past administrations, not less.”

Making the AAPI members of Congress more impatient is that there are only nine Secretary-level posts left.

AAPI lawmakers are not the only ones seeking better representation in the Biden administration. Other interest groups are pressuring Biden for better presence in the Cabinet, as candidates for more positions — including attorney general, agriculture secretary, labor secretary, and transportation secretary — are named.

The cultural concept of indebtedness -- and returning that debt -- is shared among many Asian cultures. The strength of that more survived the trip across the Pacific. It still exerts a powerful feeling and affects decision-making among Asian Americans. Since Nov. 3, how AAPI voting surge for Biden appears to have been at best, forgotten; or, at worst, shrugged off. 

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, was among those Congressmembers who expressed dismay at the disappointing response of Biden's transition team, she said. “Frankly, it feels extremely disrespectful to the AAPI community.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions.