Flashing back to Obama’s cabinet selections from 2009, it’s definitely clear that an enormous amount of diversity will not be reflected as the White House makes room for a new administration.
The New York Times, which did an extensive analysis of presidential cabinets, concluded that President Trump’s cabinet ‘is shaping up to have a smaller percentage of women and nonwhites than the first cabinets of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush.’
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“Donald Trump is rolling back the clock on diversity in the cabinet,” New York University professor Paul Light told The New York Times.
The report shows that Obama had the most diverse cabinet of all his recent predecessors with 14 minorities and women.
The study only documented as far back as former President Ronald Reagan, who had one woman and one Black man in his cabinet. That said, it is very likely that Obama’s cabinet is the most diverse cabinet in history as it’s unlikely that any other president succeeded Obama’s cabinet in diversity.
Upon Trump’s nominees being confirmed, a grand total of five women and nonwhites will be included in his cabinet. The only Black to be in his cabinet is retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who is up for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Of the five non-white men in the cabinet, they all hold some of the lowest-ranking positions, as all of the inner cabinet members are comprised of white men.
Not only does the incoming administration lack diversity, but reports also show that many of the members hold a much lower education level than the previous cabinet.
In addition, Trump is now the first president in more than two decades without a graduate degree of any kind. He solely holds a B.S. in economics from The University of Pennsylvania.
As the new administration begins their term, we’re reflecting on Obama’s 2009 board including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.