President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced on Wednesday a new round of White House staffers to serve in the incoming administration, noting the diverse array of people who have been chosen so far.
“The Biden-Harris administration will prioritize diversity of ideology and background and foster talent to address our nation’s most complex challenges,” the transition team said in a statement. “The White House staff represents a small percentage of the total number of Biden-Harris appointees that will serve across the federal government.”
The statement noted that the first 100 White House appointees made are 61 percent women, 54 percent people of color and almost 20 percent first-generation Americans.
“From the beginning, Vice President-elect Harris and I have sought to build an administration that looks like America,” Biden said in the statement. “Building a diverse team will lead to better outcomes and more effective solutions to address the urgent crises facing our nation.”
Advocacy groups and lawmakers from a host of backgrounds and ethnicities have called on Biden to pick a diverse group of people to serve in his administration.
Biden also announced on Wednesday his pick for deputy Defense secretary, Kathleen Hicks, who would be the first woman to hold the position if confirmed.
Biden nominated retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Defense secretary in early December. Austin would be the first Black person to serve in that role should he be confirmed.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s pick for secretary of Homeland Security, would be the first person of Latino descent in the position.
Biden’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, would be the first woman to hold the position if confirmed. Biden also nominated Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, which would make her the first woman to work in that role if she is confirmed.