Senate

Duckworth drops threat to oppose Biden picks over diversity concerns

by John Bowden - 03/23/21 11:07 PM ET

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said Tuesday that she was standing down on her pledge to oppose the Biden administration’s nominations in the Senate after assurances from the White House that it would do more to increase Asian American and Pacific Islander representation in the government.

In a statement obtained by NBC News, Duckworth’s spokesman said that the senator “appreciates the Biden administration’s assurances that it will do much more to elevate AAPI voices,” while adding that she would not oppose the administration’s “qualified” nominees.

News tonight: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) stands down on her threat to block Biden nominees over lack of AAPI representation among cabinet secretaries — after assurances from the administration.

A statement from her spokesman Ben Garmisa to me and @frankthorp pic.twitter.com/3dac2Y7lWd

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 24, 2021

The Hill has reached out to Duckworth’s office for comment.

In a separate statement obtained by CBS News, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration was committed to appointing “a senior level Asian American Pacific Islander liaison.”

New: @PressSec responds to warnings from @SenDuckworth and @maziehirono that they would block the President’s non-diverse nominees if they didn’t get a commitment to more AAPI representation in high level administration positions.

She said WH would add a new liason: pic.twitter.com/PvVZzLUEuQ

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) March 24, 2021

Duckworth and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said earlier Tuesday that they would vote against any “non-diversity” nominees until the White House provided a plan to expand representation for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in government following the White House’s withdrawal of Neera Tanden to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“I am a ‘no’ vote, on the floor, on all non-diversity nominees. … I will vote for racial minorities and LGBTQ but anybody else, I’m not voting for,” Duckworth said early Tuesday.

Hirono joined her a few hours later, adding that their effort was “not about pitting one diversity group against another.”

“I’m happy to vote for a Hispanic, a Black person, an LGBTQ person, an AAPI person. I’d just like to see more diversity representation,” said the Hawaii Democrat.

The two Democrats could have caused a major headache for the White House in a divided 50-50 Senate, where nominations to which Republicans opposed would easily be stymied by the pair’s “no” votes.

Tags Jen Psaki Mazie Hirono Neera Tanden Tammy Duckworth