Sen. Mazie Hirono recently shared her thoughts on placing more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in government positions during an interview.
According to Hirono, who has vocalized the need for President Joe Biden to include Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in his cabinet and other leadership positions, hopes that private conversations with the White House will help influence the president to appoint an individual tasked specifically to deal with these issues.
"The people who are making decisions, whether they are judges or in the administration, should reflect the diversity of our country," Hirono said. "The concern that some of us had that there weren't many APIs (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) appointed to secretarial positions is not something that just came out of the blue. We had been expressing those concerns for quite a while now."
Hirono also spoke on the rising number of racist attacks on Asian Americans, stating that Former President Trump's "four years of divisiveness and continued assaults on the body of politics" was a direct influence on this increasing trend.
Additionally, Hirono stated that while "having a president that recognizes that we must do more" is a step in the right direction, Asian Americans remain a popular scapegoat in the U.S. despite the generations that have lived here.
Hirono shares more of her thoughts and experiences as an immigrant from Japan in her memoir, "Heart of Fire," which is set to be released on Tuesday, April 20.