Meet the Latinos Who Could Be the Members of Biden’s Cabinet

While on the campaign trail, President-elect Joe Biden vowed that his Cabinet would be “the most diverse in history.” In the month since he won the election against President Donald Trump, he has kept well on that promise, appointing multiple women and people of color for key positions. Among them is a handful of credentialed Latinxs.

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Some new cabinet appointments, like lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, have already been named, while others are still being considered for posts throughout the Cabinet.

As president, Biden will have to pick leaders for 15 federal departments, including Justice, Homeland Security, Education, Labor, State, and more. After November 3, the president-elect usually begins the process of selection, hoping to assemble the Cabinet before the inauguration so that the Senate can confirm the appointments upon the start of the presidential term. Biden, who pledged to unite a divided country during his campaign, is expected to build a coalition that includes a mix of progressives, moderates as well as Republicans.

So far, the former vice president has chosen possible Cabinet members who are diverse across gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. Among Biden’s groundbreaking cabinet appointments are Mayorkas, the first immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security; Becerra, the first Latino to be secretary of Health and Human Services; Janet Yellen, the first woman to be secretary of the Treasury; Lloyd Austin, the first African American to be secretary of Defense; Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay man to be Secretary of Transportation; and Neera Tanden, the first South Asian woman to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

FiveThirtyEight reports that considering cultural identity is normal in the presidential transition and appointment process, particularly for Democrats, which is a more racially diverse party than the GOP, and especially for Biden, who owes his Election Day win to voters of color. According to exit polls, 66% of Latinxs voted for Biden. Even in states where Trump won, like Florida, a larger percentage of Latinxs voted for Biden.

Since Biden’s November victory, multiple Latinx groups have been advocating for Latinx Cabinet appointees. The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 42 Latinx groups, including UnidosUS and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), has been pushing the president-elect to appoint at least five Latinxs to Cabinet-level posts. Meanwhile, the Alliance for Latinx Leadership and Policy has provided the Biden transition team with names of established Latinx politicos and professionals to consider for Cabinet positions. While some experienced Latinas had been suggested and considered, including Lily Eskelsen García for secretary of education and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for the Department of Health and Human Services, at the time of writing, no Latinas have been nominated.

Here are the Latinx cabinet members who Biden has already appointed and others the president-elect is still considering to lead federal departments.