AAPI still not over being snubbed for Biden's cabinet.

Asian Americans will not be at the table when President Joe Biden's Cabinet meets

OPINION

President Joe Biden's executive memo condemning the hate and racism being aimed at Asian and Pacific Islander Americans has done little to sooth the hurt for not getting an AAPI named to a single Cabinet Secretary.

“The brazen exclusion" of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders "abandons and erases the AAPI community,” said Madalene Mielke, president and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies.

“It’s insulting and frustrating,” Mielke, told USA Today. “Part of the reason Asian Americans vote is that they’re looking for people who can represent them. And it stings, because it looks like we’re regressing.”

“Yes, I am profoundly disappointed also that there is not a member of the AAPI community at the Cabinet secretary level,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth in a statement. “And I think that for a Cabinet that is so historically diverse, to not have someone of AAPI descent at the Cabinet level is a real missed opportunity.

“I think it sends two messages,” said the Illinois Congressmember. “One, that you’re not important to us, you’re not diverse enough, you’re not important to us. And the other is that you can be taken for granted.

“AAPIs have 4% of the vote in many, many states — that’s the margin of victory in many, many states … it just says that potentially we’re taking AAPIs for granted,” she added. “And I’m just going to make sure we send a message that we will not take AAPIs for granted. That the AAPI community is just as important to this nation as those of other community groups and that AAPIs are Americans just like everyone else.”

Duckworth‘s comments came the same day Biden signed a memorandum condemning racism and xenophobia against AAPIs spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.

AAPI voters cast their ballots for Biden in overwhelming numbers and acted as swing voters in some districts and states so criticizing Biden is not something that comes easy for some.

“As much as I view myself as a friendly ally of this president," said Rep. Mark Takano. "I think he’s erred in [that] he has chosen to exclude Asian Americans from his 15 Cabinet secretaries."

Settling for the crumbs is something AAPI is all too familiar with. The danger is if AAPI voters who became more engaged in the November election or in Georgia's runoff vote for Senate feel that their effort was for naught, they may begin to wonder if their political involvement is worth the effort.

Former Congressmember Dan Honda emphasized that the people Biden chose were well qualified and that his Cabinet is one of the more diverse, but without an AAPI Secretary, it doesn't "look like America," a boast Biden promised during the campaign.

Critics say that picking Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget and Katherine Tai for the U.S. Trade Representative post are fine selections, their positions don't carry the weight as a Cabinet Secretary.

The only hope for AAPI may fall Vice President Kamala Harris shoulders to make sure that the AAPI voice is heard during the Cabinet meetings.

“When we’re out of the picture, then we’re not part of America,” said  Honda. “And then all we’re good for is photos and contributions of votes, but not for a seat at America’s table.”

EDITOR'S NOTE; A word of caution. This is an opinion piece. Readers should consult several sources of news to form their own opinion.