Cabinet Nominees of Color Have Faced Unequal Treatment, Scrutiny Throughout Confirmation Process

Accountable Senate War Room report highlights the disturbing trend of President Biden’s Cabinet nominees of color facing more obstacles to getting confirmed and increased scrutiny on the Senate floor compared to their white counterparts who have had an easier time getting hearings and floor votes scheduled with greater bipartisan support. This report comes on the heels of the planned opposition to Neera Tanden, President Biden’s pick to run the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Republican opposition to the confirmations of Congresswoman Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary and Xavier Becerra as Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.

Here’s an overview of the data in the report:

• White nominees for Biden’s Cabinet took an average of 44 days to go from their announcement as nominees to receiving a Senate hearing; non-white nominees took an average of 57 days, a 13-day difference.
• As of February 24, Biden’s white nominees have waited an average of 58 days from being announced as a nominee to receiving their Senate floor vote; Biden’s non-white nominees have waited an average of 72 days for their Senate floor vote, a difference of 14 days.
• As of February 24, Biden’s white nominees have waited an average of 14 days from receiving a Senate hearing to receiving a Senate floor vote; it took Biden’s non-white nominees 19 days to go from Senate hearing to Senate floor vote, a difference of 5 days.
• Xavier Becerra waited the longest between announcement and hearing — 79 days — and Linda Thomas-Greenfield waited the longest between announcement and floor vote — 92 days.