President Biden names his "liaison" to AAPI communities

ERIKA MORTSUGU, 

President Biden Wednesday selected Capitol Hill veteran Erika Moritsugu as the White House "liaison" to the AAPI community, fulfilling an earlier pledge to Senators Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth.

Moritsugu's official title will be Deputy Assistant to the President and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Senior Liaison. Moritsugu is expected to report to Bruce Reed, Biden’s deputy chief of staff.

The pending appointment comes after Hirono and Duckworth threatened to wthhold their votes on White House nominees unless Biden included AAPIs among the White House senior advisors. With the Senate split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, any Democratic defections or abstentions could doom the nominees' chances.

To appease the senators and other AAPI members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus who were disappointed that no Asian Americans hold a Cabinet Secretary position, the White House promised to appoint a senior advisor to act as a "liaison." 

Biden is scheduled to meet with the leadership team of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in the Oval Office on Thursday.

The California-born and Hawaii-raised attorney served as the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the leadership of Secretary Julián Castro in the Obama Administration after being confirmed by the Senate in 2014.

Moritsugu was recently appointed as the Vice President of a newly formed Congressional Relations team to lead an enterprise-wide advocacy strategy across all of the Partnership’s program areas, including economic justice and health justice. Prior to her work at the National Partnership, Moritsugu led the Government Relations, Advocacy and Community Engagement team at the Anti-Defamation League, a leading anti-hate organization that was founded in 1913 in response to an escalating climate of antisemitism and bigotry.

Moritsugu has diverse and deep experience on Capitol Hill and within governmental agencies. Moritsugu served as the General Counsel for Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, for whom she provided legislative and political strategic counsel and managed the Senator’s AAPI outreach and judiciary, civil rights and economic policies. 

She was the Deputy Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs at the newly-established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Deputy Legislative Director for Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawai’i focused on economic policy and health issues; and held several different roles at the Senate Democratic Policy Committee under Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, including Acting Staff Director and Policy Director and economic policy advisor. 

Before recommitting to a career in public service, she practiced international trade, legislative, and immigration law at Hogan and Hartson and managed grassroots and coalition-building campaigns at The Wexler Group.

With Moritsugu named, AAPI leaders continue to seek more appointments of AAPI. With the withdrawal of Neera Tanden for consideration as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Biden only has Vice President Kamala Harris and Trade Representative Katherine Tai present during the Cabinet meetings.

Among the top nominees for OMB director is Nani Coloretti, a Filipino American who served as deputy secretary of housing and urban development in the Obama administration.

Initially, AAPI leaders submitted several names to replace Tanden but decided to rally around a single candidate. If Coloretti is chosen to head OMB, she would be the first Filipino American to serve in a U.S. President's Cabinet.

Coloretti "fits the bill. She worked at OMB as a career official," said Shekar Narasimhan, chairman of the AAPI Victory Fund, which is backing Coloretti. "She’s been confirmed by the Senate. She would be enormously valuable to us if they make the appointment. It sends a very strong signal to our community.”