Asian Americans Joining Government
Find out about some of the Asian American “firsts” among the Biden administration’s nominees:
Julie Su (BA ‘91), who is Chinese American and a Stanford alumna, would be the first Asian American woman to serve as Deputy Labor Secretary.
Katherine Tai, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan, would be the first Asian American to serve as Chief Trade Negotiator.
Neera Tanden, an Indian American, would be the first woman of color and first Asian American to helm the Office of Management and Budget. Asian Americans, who represent the fastest-growing group of voters, have expressed concern her Senate confirmation could be blocked. UPDATE: On March 2, the Biden administration withdrew Tanden’s nomination as she came under fire for past tweets. The former executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum writes about the racist undertones and misogynistic double standards surrounding the debacle.
Ali Zaidi, inaugurating the post of Deputy White House National Climate Advisor, would be the highest-ranking Pakistani American in the administration. He is also affiliated with the Precourt Energy Institute at Stanford.
Attacks on Asian American Seniors
On January 26, the Biden White House issued an order to federal agencies to combat “racism, xenophobia and intolerance” against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders arising during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, a series of violent assaults against Asian American seniors in the Bay Area and New York, has raised fears about anti-Asian sentiment, just as many were celebrating the Lunar New Year. Community members have volunteered to walk with elders to ward off further attacks, while Asian American actors such as Daniel Dae Kim and Gemma Chan are also speaking out against these crimes.
Observers have suggested the violence reflects anti-Asian racism fomented during the pandemic and linked to inflammatory language by then-President Donald Trump. However, police have not filed “hate crime” charges in these cases, so other commentators have urged the public to distinguish between hate crimes, regular crimes, and “hate incidents.” Nonetheless, Vice President Kamala Harris condemned these incidents as “xenophobic attacks.”
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