The White House is expected on Thursday to announce the appointment of Erika Moritsugu as the administration’s Asian American and Pacific Islander liaison, according to a source familiar with the decision.
Moritsugu was previously a vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families and headed up the group’s Economic Justice team. She also served as an assistant secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama administration.
The high-level appointment comes weeks after Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, criticized the administration over a lack of Asian American and Pacific Islander representation. Both lawmakers had threatened to block President Joe Biden’s nominees but reversed course after assurances from the administration. It also comes as the nation is grappling with a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
CBS News was the first to report the news.
Moritsugu also previously worked with Duckworth on Capitol Hill, serving as her general counsel.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden is expected to meet with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus at the White House. But Moritsugu is not expected to attend, according to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who was asked about the potential for an announcement at Wednesday’s briefing.
“We are getting much closer to having news to share on that high-level personnel announcement, I don’t expect that person will be attending tomorrow but hopefully we’ll have more to share soon,” Psaki said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
