Black lawmakers irked by Obama’s diverse Cabinet

Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are disappointed President-elect Obama did not appoint more African-Americans to his Cabinet.

Obama tapped four blacks for Cabinet posts, including Eric Holder. If confirmed, Holder will be the first African-American attorney general.

{mosads}But Obama passed over black candidates in selecting Cabinet nominees for positions central to setting policy for urban America, such as the departments of Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development.

Hispanic Americans, by contrast, have been nominated for three Cabinet positions, and politicians from that constituency have hailed Obama’s nominations.

“Did the African-American community probably expect more appointees at that level? Probably so,” said Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), an early Obama supporter who has expressed an interest in filling Obama’s vacant Senate seat.

Davis said he was pleased with Obama’s Cabinet, but confirmed that there is some angst within the CBC.

“On balance, I’d say a great deal of thought went into the shaping of this Cabinet,” Davis told The Hill. “And he ended up with a real rainbow. But some people, sure, thought there should be a bit more color in it.”

Another senior member of the CBC who requested anonymity said more pointedly that Obama “isn’t doing enough for the black folks.”

The Obama transition team did not return e-mails seeking comment for this article.

Obama’s Cabinet, if confirmed, will include 11 whites, four blacks, three Hispanics and two Asian Americans.

As a whole, the Black Caucus has been relatively quiet in response to Obama’s personnel moves.

The only press release issued by incoming CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) on Obama’s Cabinet commended his nomination of Steven Chu, an Asian American, to head the Energy Department.

Asked to comment on the Obama Cabinet on behalf of the Black Caucus, Lee’s spokeswoman deferred to Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who is the chairwoman of the CBC until the 111th Congress is sworn in next month.

Kilpatrick did not comment for this article and has not issued any press releases on Obama’s choices for his Cabinet.

Obama’s final Cabinet announcements last week raised frustrations within the CBC that Obama is taking his strongest supporters for granted, an aide to a prominent black lawmaker said.

The final Cabinet picks announced on Friday included the third Hispanic nominee, Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), whom Obama tapped for the Department of Labor, and Rep. Ray LaHood, a white Republican from Obama’s home state of Illinois, for the Department of Transportation.

Obama also announced African-American Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, would be his trade representative. But Kirk only won the post after a Hispanic, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), turned it down.

“The Cabinet appointments definitely got people’s attention,” the aide said.

No one is doubting the qualifications of Obama’s choices, the aide said. But some blacks in Congress expected two things that Obama didn’t deliver: a better consultation and communication process and, at the end of the day, more blacks in the Cabinet.

{mospagebreak}Other than Holder and Kirk, the African-Americans chosen for Obama’s Cabinet are Susan Rice for U.N. Ambassador and Lisa Jackson as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Davis said that while the raw demographics definitely caught the CBC by surprise and have caused eyebrows to be raised, the bigger problem may come in the policy implications for blacks across the country.

“People I’ve talked to have expressed that they were hoping to have seen a few more African-Americans in place, and in places where you can pinpoint needs,” Davis said, citing specifically the departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development.

{mosads}Those three departments are going to be run by white men.

Many CBC members, Davis included, celebrated individual appointments for Cabinet posts. Davis said Obama “couldn’t do any better” than Holder. He also said he was “delighted” in the choice of Solis to lead the Labor Department.

The reaction of prominent black lawmakers stands in stark contrast to that of Hispanic legislators, who are elated with Obama’s choices.

“President-elect Obama continues to select a highly qualified Cabinet with diverse experiences and backgrounds,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairwoman-elect Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) said after the Solis announcement. “The growing strength of the Latino community will be well-represented in the next administration with Hispanic leaders guiding the Commerce, Interior and Labor Departments.”

And, notably, unlike the CBC, Hispanic lawmakers were happy not only to have familiar faces in the Cabinet, but to see them placed in key positions to advance some of their highest priorities, such as comprehensive immigration reform.

In fact, many Hispanics in Congress are buoyed by the possibility of getting immigration reform moved back onto the front burner, especially with Solis at the Labor Department and Bill Richardson running the Commerce Department.

“If the CHC has anything to say about it, [immigration reform] will be a priority out of the gate,” a Democratic official.

Ninety-five percent of African-American voters supported Obama, 8 percent more than voted for Democratic Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) in 2004. Turnout of African-Americans was key to helping Obama win Virginia and North Carolina, which had gone for the GOP presidential candidate for decades.

But Hispanics might have been even more important to Obama. He took 67 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls, compared to the 53 percent won by Kerry. Obama won Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, which all went Republican in 2004.