Chi Wang

Opinion | How Joe Biden can show his appreciation for Asian-American voters

Asian-American voters strongly supported Biden even though neither political party actively reached out to them. Now is the time for the president-elect to recognise that loyalty and include more Asian-Americans in his governing team

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Chi Wang

Published: 12:30am, 11 Dec 2020Updated: 6:01am, 11 Dec 2020

Over a month after election day, President-elect Joe Biden has started announcing many of his early choices for cabinet positions. Many are diverse and historic selections, including Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador, Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security and Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary.

However, the core advisers Biden is surrounding himself with in the positions of chief of staff, national security adviser and secretary of state – Ron Klain, Jake Sullivan and Antony Blinken respectively – are white men.

The cabinet is far from filled and many posts still require Senate approval – but on Wednesday it was reported that Biden is set to nominate House Ways and Means Committee trade lawyer Katherine Tai to be US Trade Representative.

And Neera Tanden, the daughter of Indian immigrants, is Biden’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Budget, but her standing with Republicans and progressive Democrats makes her confirmation by the Senate questionable.

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (left) and Florence Fang, co-founder of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, tour San Francisco’s Chinatown on February 24 amid the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: AFP

Biden won the Asian vote with a decisive 61 per cent margin, according to CNN exit polls – an anticipated outcome. As the Asian population in the US has grown and become more politically engaged, they have leaned increasingly Democratic, though large numbers of the community remain politically independent. Lack of outreach from political parties has reinforced this trend.