Via the DMN: Trump Cabinet will be the first in decades without a Hispanic member
Donald Trump’s Cabinet is poised to become the first since 1988 without any Hispanic officials — sparking rebukes from members of the nation’s second-largest ethnic group — as Trump tapped former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue for agriculture secretary.
This is not especially surprising. It does strike me that it is just another example of the Republican Party’s ongoing failure to reach out to a significant portion of the population.
In general, the cabinet is not especially diverse, as it is dominated by white males, which is also not surprising. The exceptions being:
Trump’s pick for housing secretary, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, is black. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, his pick for United Nations ambassador, would be the first Indian-American Cabinet member. Transportation pick Elaine Chao is Taiwanese-American.
The incoming administration’s response:
Asked about the dearth of Hispanics in the Cabinet, Trump spokesman Sean Spicer called it more important to pick people who can do the jobs well.
“He has continued to seek out the best and the brightest to fill out his Cabinet,” Spicer said Wednesday. “We have 5,000 positions and I think you’re going to see a very strong presence of the Hispanic community” among senior administration appointments and White House staff.
“I don’t have any concern about diversity,” he said.
Also not surprising.
