Hispanic leaders decry lack of Latinos in Trump’s Cabinet
WASHINGTON — Hispanic leaders say the lack of Latinos in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet is a historic setback for the country and the minority community that has been a part of previous presidential administrations for the past three decades.
“The next time the president of the United States convenes his most senior advisers and deputies in the Cabinet Room, there will not be a single Latino voice or perspective at the table for the first time in 30 years,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the nonpartisan National Association of Latino and Elected and Appointed Officials.
“The exclusion of a Latino voice in President-elect Trump’s cabinet is a historic setback for the nation,” Vargas said last week.
There are 57 million Hispanics living in the United States, about 17.3 percent of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Latinos are the second-largest population group and one of the fastest-growing minority populations.
The growing Latino population has led to rising electoral influence of Latino voters in recent elections, particularly in battleground states such as Nevada, Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina, according the Pew Research Center.
Last November, Catherine Cortez Masto, a former Nevada attorney general, was elected the first Latina to serve in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev., was elected to serve in a congressional district that includes Las Vegas. Kihuen is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Mexico.
Cortez Masto said the absence of Latinos in the Cabinet is a glaring “lack of diversity.” She said Trump has played lip service to minority groups, like Latinos.
“Just to say that we like people of color and don’t worry we’re going to take care of them but not have anybody represented in the Cabinet in a high-level position? It makes a statement, and I don’t think he supports that diversity,” Cortez Masto told the Review-Journal.
Trump considered two Latinos to be his secretary of agriculture: Former U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, who served as chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture; and Abel Maldonado, a former California lieutenant governor.
NALEO had urged Trump to select Maldonado, a vineyard owner, for the position. Instead, the president selected former Georgia Gov. George “Sonny” Perdue III.
Trump has nominated Ben Carson, an African American doctor, to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Elaine Chao has been tapped to lead the Transportation Department; former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations; Besty DeVos to lead the Education Department; and Linda McMahon has been designated for the Small Business Administration.
Seema Verma has been picked by Trump to be administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“There’s a tremendous amount of diversity that’s not just about the color of someone’s skin, but it’s gender diversity,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told CBS in an interview. “It’s ideological diversity. And that’s really where the focus is.”
Still, Cortez Masto noted that of Trump’s initial picks for Cabinet-level positions, 90 percent are men and 90 percent are white.
With more than 4,000 positions still to be filled by the president to round out his administration, NALEO is asking Trump to make sure there is full Latino representation in every government department and agency.
“There is no shortage of talent among the deep bench of Latino qualified candidates in this country,” Vargas said.
“A Trump administration will need to ensure these individuals are able to put their skills to work for the good of the nation if we want to move America forward in the coming four years,” Vargas said.
Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.