Obama 's Cabinet:
How Diversify This Time?
Published: 20 January 2013 By Claudia Balthazar
President Barack Obama takes oath for second term (Courtesy: Fox News)
In the midst of deciding what to do about gun control and the fiscal cliff,
President Barack Obama has named new appointees for his second-term.
These first appointees are all white men, a decision critics say lack diversity.
According to The New York Times, President Obama said at a news
conference on Monday, “I would just suggest that everybody kind of wait
until they’ve seen all my appointments – who’s in the White House staff
and who’s in my cabinet – before they rush to judgment.” He urged
people to not past judgment based on the first few appointments he’s
made and vowed that his second-term team will be diverse.
He said “I’m very proud that in the first four years we had as diverse, if
not more diverse, a White House and a cabinet than any in history,” he
said. “And I intend to continue that.”
The first appointments went to Senator John Kerry for secretary of state,
former Senator Chuck Hagel for defense secretary and John Brennan,
the president’s counterterrorism adviser, for director of the Central
Intelligence Agency. One particular criticism is that Hilary Clinton is
being replaced by a man rather than another woman.
However, as administration officials are searching for prospective
candidates, it is said that some attention is being given to women. One
position could go to undersecretary of Treasury for international affairs,
Lael Brainard who could be promoted to either deputy secretary under
Jacob Lew or replace the 16th U.S. trade representative, Ron Kirk. Other
women to be considered for top positions are, former deputy Office of
Management and Budget director, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, who could be
a candidate for O.M.B. director and chief financial officer at Morgan
Stanley, Ruth Porat who could be a candidate for deputy Treasury
secretary.
During Obama’s first term, women were well represented in the
White House and Cabinet. There is hope that they still will during his
second term being that 53 percent of the electorate were women that
elected Obama back into office.