US President-elect Joe Biden has said that his administration would be the most diverse than it has ever been both in the Cabinet and inside the White House.
Biden, 78, is due to take over as the 46th US President on January 20.
African-American groups have been asking Biden, a Democrat, to nominate one of them among the big four: Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Defence Secretary and Attorney General.
“It will be the most diverse Cabinet and the main spots in both White House as well as in cabinet positions,” Biden told reporters on Friday when asked about various groups asking him to give representations to their sections of the society.
“Look, it’s each one of these groups’ job to push, push their leaders to make sure there’s greater diversity. What I can promise you is when this is all said and done, you’ll see everyone that I’ve announced and there’s going to be in the next several weeks,” he said.
“We’ll have it all out there. You’re going to see significant diversity. I’m not going to tell you now exactly what I’m going to do in any department, but I promise you it will be the single most diverse cabinet based on race, colour, based on gender that ever existed in the United States of America,” Biden said.
Congressman Gregory Meeks, who backs a strong US-India relationship, was on Thursday elected as the next chairman of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, becoming the first African-American to head the Congressional panel that plays an influential role in shaping the country’s foreign policy.
Biden’s economic team includes Janet Yellen as the Treasury Secretary, Indian-American Neera Tanden as the Director of Office of Management and Budget, Wally Adeyemo the as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Cecilia Rouse as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey as members of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Biden has nominated Antony Blinken as the Secretary of State.
He is yet to finalise candidates for the posts of Defence Secretary and Attorney General.
(PTI)
