Obama Strives for a Diverse Cabinet

President Barack Obama responded to criticisms that his Cabinet was not diverse enough by telling people to wait until all of his choices have been named. Obama has named white men and white women to oversee the departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Energy and Interior; as well as the CIA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget. The departments of Labor, Commerce and Transportation, as well as a new U.S. Trade Representative of the Small Business Administration still must be fulfilled with new heads.

Obama has been criticized at the start of his second term for not naming any women to several of his top posts.

Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday that Obama is “deeply committed” to having a diverse Cabinet. He encouraged critics to “assess the diversity of (Obama’s) appointments once they’ve all been made.”

“There are obviously still appointments the president will be making,” Carney said. “The president is committed to diversity. He believes that having a diverse Cabinet and a diverse set of advisers enhances the decision-making and deliberation process for him and for any president.”

The president is close to naming Tom Perez, a Latino and Justice Department civil-rights official, to take the place of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor, according to people familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to speak for the record.

The Cabinet still includes Attorney General Eric Holder and Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, both of whom are Black. Both also are continuing in the posts they held in the president’s first term.