Thursday, January 17, 2013

Ken Salazar's Exit Leaves Obama Cabinet Without Latinos

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will leave the Obama administration by the end of March, a departure that means that the president's cabinet may be left without any Latino members. Salazar, a fifth-generation Coloradan and former senator, plans to return to his home state. The interior secretary was one of two Latinos serving in President Obama's cabinet; the other being Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who resigned her post last week. Upon Salazar's departure at the end of March, no Latinos will be left in Obama's cabinet unless he appoints one in the interim.  Obama has come under fire in recent days for an apparent lack of racial and gender diversity in his recent cabinet picks for his second term as president. Nominees to fill high-profile positions at the departments of  Treasury, State and Defense have all been white males. The scrutiny of Obama's cabinet makeup comes after an election in which he relied on a coalition of Latinos, blacks and Asian-Americans to help regain the White House. Obama took more than 70 percent of the Latino vote and a record 36 Latino members were elected to the House and Senate...more

I certainly hope not, but this could be a factor in selecting Grijalva. 

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