Tammy Duckworth Says She Will Vote Against Future Biden Appointees Except for ‘Racial Minorities and LGBTQ’
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said Tuesday that she intended to vote against future nominees from President Joe Biden, with the exception of “racial minorities and… LGBTQ.”
CNN’s Manu Raju initially broke the news in a message on Twitter. “Tammy Duckworth just told me she’s voting NO on Biden nominees until President makes commitment/ appoints AAPI picks to key executive branch positions,” Raju wrote. “She said found it “insulting” that a senior WH aide last night pointed to Harris’ South Asian roots when asked about AAPI picks.”
AAPI is an acronym for Asian American Pacific Islander.
Duckworth clarified to reporters on Tuesday that her push for representation does not mean she will vote no to all Biden nominees. “I will vote for racial minorities and I will vote for LGBTQ, but anybody else I’m not voting for,” she reportedly said. She did not make it clear whether she would vote for members of the latter group who were not racial minorities.
The ban on Biden’s appointees will evidently extend beyond Cabinet picks. “Duckworth said she has informed the White House she will oppose the nomination of Colin Kahl as the Pentagon’s top policy chief, whose nomination was already hanging by a thread,” Raju said. He added that she took particular issue with Neera Tanden withdrawing her nomination to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget in February after it had stalled as a result of Tanden’s old inflammatory tweets.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said Tuesday she would back Duckworth, telling MSNBC that she took issue with the administration touting U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as an appointee who satisfied Duckworth’s demand. “I don’t think the trade representative is what the community understands as … Cabinet-level,” Hirono said.
The development will effectively block future Biden appointees from winning Senate confirmation unless he is able to reach an agreement with Duckworth and Hirono or at least two Senate Republicans. Democrats presently hold just 48 of the Senate’s 100 seats, while two independents, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Maine Sen. Angus King, caucus with Democrats.
