Pressure mounts on Biden to make diverse picks for top posts
The IndependentGet Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I promise you, it'll be the single most diverse Cabinet based on race, color, based on gender that's ever existed in the United States of America,” the president-elect said instead during a news conference Friday. But he said that coping with such large challenges as the coronavirus pandemic and an economy in distress while combating economic inequality and institutional racism will require looking beyond “people who have been involved, in some ways, in some of the decisions over 40 years that got us here.” “The Biden administration needs to choose people who have demonstrated that they are visionaries, are tough fighters who have a large-scale approach of how to use machinery of the federal government to fight for working people,” Mitchell said. “This is not the time for moderation and gradualism.” NAACP President Derrick Johnson noted that Biden has gone to great lengths to make announcements and staffing decisions related to the pandemic, the economy and climate change, but “we have not seen any of that same energy for racial justice.” “This is an opportunity for the reset button,” and Biden’s actions need to match his campaign rhetoric on civil rights, Johnson said. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.