Black GOP Members Feel Excluded From Trump’s 2nd-Term Cabinet Picks

Anti-DEI practices have consequences

After heavily campaigning for the four-time indicted businessman, Donald Trump, Black Republicans are confused over why they haven’t been selected for cabinet seats, ABC News reported.

Over half a dozen longtime and fresh-faced Black conservatives and GOP supporters of President-elect Donald J. Trump – both on Capitol Hill and outside – are curious as to why more Black people haven’t been appointed to key positions within Trumpworld. So far only one African-American has been picked for a “Black job.” In November 2024, Scott Turner, the former executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term and retired NFL player, was picked to serve as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The selection was a sore point for some Black Republicans. “Why is every Black person given HUD?,” an unidentified Black Southern conservative said.

History shows that six African Americans have served as HUD secretaries, with Robert Weaver being the first, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. Weaver was also the first African American appointed to a Cabinet-level position. Historically, a number of Republican presidents have only selected one Black person to serve in their cabinet. Former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce was the only Black Cabinet official during the Ronald Reagan reign and Dr. Ben Carson served as Trump’s sole Black cabinet member back in 2016.

A number of Trump defenders are giving the side-eye to the lack of Black appointees while other minority groups have been given the opportunity to firsts in certain positions. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL.) would be the first Hispanic secretary of state, Scott Bessent would be the first openly gay Treasury secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard will be the first Asian-American and the youngest director of national intelligence – if confirmed.

Those who want to speak out are fearful of the reaction from fellow Republicans. “I can’t tweet that we need more Black conservatives because the left will attack me saying it’s a DEI hire,” one Republican said.

According to Politico, there are a number of cabinet picks in Trump’s second term that may be looked at as falling in the category of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Outside of Turner, Rubio, and Gabbard, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), who is Hispanic, was selected as Department of Labor secretary. Kash Patel, of Indian descent, was selected to be the director of the FBI, which has drawn strong backlash and criticism.

However, there are some that don’t see a problem with the lack of color in the White House as Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fl.) called out President Joe Biden’s diverse cabinet, but claims they did nothing during their time in office. “If you look at how the Democrats filled Joe Biden’s cabinet, they wanted to have a piece of every identity. But did they get the job done? Did they actually serve the interest of the American people?,” he said while making an appearance on CNN.

“What Donald Trump’s election is about, is bringing competency and reality back to D.C. in the White House, regardless of their race, regardless of their religion, regardless of their creed.”