Joe Biden has recently announced two Latinos who will become members of his COVID-19 task force. Biden is also expected to name more Latinos as members of his cabinet after he's announced as president.

Joe Biden
(Photo : Reutersconnect)

Latinos across the country helped Joe Biden in the recent election. According to the exit polls, around 66 percent of Latinos voted in favor of Biden.

Latino voters were very vital not only for him but also for his party that they were able to flip Arizona and hold on to Nevada. 

Read also: Meet the Two Latino Health Experts Leading Biden's COVID-19 Task Force 

With the support that Joe Biden received from Latinos, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda- a coalition of 42 Latino groups, wants Joe Biden to name not less than five Latinos to become members of his cabinet as he enters the White House this January.

There were a total of six Latinos who became members of his cabinet in his two terms. This is why the Latino groups are expecting more members from their community to become part of the Biden-Harris administration. 

Aside from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, the Alliance for Latinx Leadership and Policy is also calling Biden to put more Hispanics and Latinos on his cabinet.

The group has chairpersons from Texas, California, and Colorado which Biden can use if he plans again for his second term. 

Despite the call of Latino and Hispanic groups, the transition team does not announce to the public the names of those who are considered. However, the groups are submitting lists of names that could be considered by Biden's transition team. 

According to NBC News, the NHLA has been working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to identify potential Cabinet members and appointees for other positions.

Some of the names they endorsed are those who have experienced in handling the position. These are the Latinos who could be the cabinet members of the Biden-Harris administration: 

  • California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as U.S. attorney general or to head the Department of Homeland Security.
  • Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, has also been mentioned for attorney general.
  • Ali Mayorkas, former DHS deputy secretary and former Citizenship and Immigration Services director in the Obama administration, is another name being suggested for the Department of Homeland Security secretary.
  • Louis Caldera, the only Latino secretary of the Army, who is also considered as DHS secretary.
  • Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resource Committee and a progressive, has been suggested as a pick to head the Department of Interior.
  • Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, who oversaw her state's health and aging departments, is being suggested for Health and Human Services or Energy.
  • Lily Eskelsen-Garcia, a Utah teacher and former president of the National Education Association, and Pedro Rivera, former Pennsylvania secretary of education, to lead the Education Department. 
  • Julián Castro, the only major Latino candidate for president and former secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Obama, for Labor, Commerce, U.N. ambassador, HUD again, or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
  • Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California has been suggested as a possible candidate to head the Labor Department or be a U.S. trade representative. 

These are just a few of the Latinos that NHLA in coordination with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus believed that can help the new administration. 

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