about thedrews talks covid relief funding bill and the president's veto, and then kristin clark looks at civil rights in the administrations. also on the future of the republican party. watch live at 7:00 eastern on monday morning and be sure to join in the discussion with your phone calls and texts and tweets. ♪ host: three and a half weeks to inauguration day, and while there are key positions still to be announced, the biden cabinet

is beginning to take shape. the first african-american defense secretary. the first native american to lead the interior department. it is sunday, december 27, 2020. this is "washington journal," welcome to the program. we will spend the first hour hearing from some of those picks and ask you about the diversity of the cabinet so far. does diversity matter? if you say yes, that line is (202) 748-8000. if you say no, (202) 748-8001. if you are undecided about it, it is (202) 748-8002. you can also send us a text, that line is (202) 748-8003. on twitter we are @cspanwj. for facebook host.facebook.com/cspan. among the questions we can consider, will diversity result in changed policies as we talk about the biden makes so far in the upcoming administration? (202) 748-8000 if you think it is yes.

(202) 748-8001 if it is no. some thinking, some writing about the thinking of joe biden and how he is putting together his cabinet from the washington post. 45,000 names, 130 packets of information, and gut instinct is how biden is managing his transition. he writes that packets have been delivered regularly to joe biden's home, providing meticulous details on each potential cabinet bro's strengths, weaknesses, and possible areas of conflict. biden has been conducting interviews with candidates, focusing on their values and life stories nearly as much of their approach to the departments they would lead. he has made kamala harris's closest partner in the cabinet selection effort. she has interviewed each candidate separately and traded notes with biden and what has been an important step in deepening their working relationship.

biden's transition is providing the first portrait of one largely conducted behind the scenes of his style as a manager and decision-maker. from the outside, advocate groups and members of congress can find his process cryptic and unpredictable as they attempt to discern which directions biden and his core of advisors are leaning, only to find out he has abruptly switched course. some nominations have been handled quickly, while other decisions have lingered, creating frustration among allies. proponents of ideological diversity complain he has vested too much power. he has largely shrugged off the criticism, confident in his own approach to what he sees as gut-checked decision-making. he has become more animated in defending some of the choices his internal deliberations have yielded, urging those on the outside to take his full cabinet

into consideration. that is from the washington post. the brookings institution has some writing about this, and more broadly about picks in the administration's past, and the diversity in those. here is the chart from brookings. they look at that racial and ethnic breakdown. past three, not the biden picks so far, in terms of the percentages, nearly 72% white, black percentage is nearly 11%, and asian 6% as well. in terms of hispanic picks, over the first hundred days of the past three administrations. how important is diversity in the biden administration? let me show you the comments from some of the articles brookings had posted.

in a politically and racially fractured nation moving toward increased representation of leaders by race, gender, sexual orientation, and ideology does not occur by accident. diversity should not focus on representation, but rather investments in diverse talent not only help make america stronger and more resilient, but it gets us closer to our constitutional mandates, resulting in a more perfect and inclusive union. that is from brookings. your thoughts on the diversity of the biden cabinet. (202) 748-8000 if you think it is an important attribute. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. the most recent pick, miguel cardona. the washington post reports the day after biden praises cardona as secretary of education. here is what the president-elect

had to say. pres. elect biden: today i'm pleased to announced that nominee we have, dr. miguel cardona. he is brilliant, qualified, and tested. he is going to join the cabinet, and it is going to be a historic cabinet. already there are more people of color in this cabinet then the history of the united states. there are more women than ever. the first openly gay cabinet member. it is a cabinet that looks like america. it taps into the best of america that opens doors and includes the full range of talents we have in this nation. host: joe biden announcing miguel cardona, his secretary of education pick. that was from wednesday. (202) 748-8000 line to call if you think diversity is important. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. (202) 748-8002 is undecided. this is robert from frostburg,

maryland. go ahead. caller: good morning. yes, diversity matters quite a bit. what most americans don't understand is, when white colonial supremacy controlled ,ost of the earth, in 95 years in the far east, every country over in the far east from 1898 to 1975, white supremacy controlled it regardless of what political philosophy or whether it was violent or nonviolent. the same thing happened in the middle east, egypt india. 1993 with the mandela thing, the apartheid thing. what people don't understand is, you can't keep messing with people.

they get tired of it. diversity definitely matters. host: how do you think it will influence policies in the biden administration? caller: i think mr. biden is definitely on the right track. the type that trump had chosen is the same from every failed empire as the last 5000 years. that is a fact. thank you. host: ruben in philadelphia. (202) 748-8000 if you say yes, like ruben. go ahead. caller: i do agree with there being diversity. kind of what the last man said, but i think everyone should be represented in the united states. i was leery of his defense secretary, because he is going to need a waiver. it is ironic he chose a black man on the hill after representative clyburn said there was not enough black men.

he chose one that needed a waiver, and we have democratic senators saying they are not going to give a waiver. will he choose another black male or is he going to say, i chose a black man and he wasn't qualified? he knew this before, because general mattis had a hard time getting a waiver. what makes them think senators are going to do this hypocrisy and give him a waiver? host: do you think biden might have pulled senators ahead of time and say, hey, will you support the waiver for lloyd austin? caller: we've got john reed already saying they are not going to support it. host: what about austin? let's say he does get the waiver, what do you think of him as a pick? caller: i think he is qualified. i think his credentials are qualified, but i think he is going to be stumbling. somebody saying his comments on isis, and now with everything

going on with china, because china celebrated him. now you have what's going on with swalwell with china. now they are trying to make china a big deal. there is some baggage. host: appreciate that. let's take a look at the president-elect announcing lloyd austin as his defense secretary. >> he was the person president obama and i entrusted with the incredible task of bringing home america's forces and redeploying our military equipment safely out of iraq. it was the largest logistical operation undertaken by the army in 60 years. getting it done required much more than military know-how. general austin was a diplomat. it was not an easy task. he built relationships with the iraqi counterparts and with our coalition partners. he was a statesman representing at country with a skill

tables i have sat with him, with foreign leaders. i wondered whether he was from the state department or the defense department. i'm not exaggerating. he has a way about him. and above all he has looked out for his people. that is why he was known as the soldier's leader. in his time in the army, lloyd austin met every challenge with skill and profound personal decency. he is the definition of duty, honor, country. at every step he challenged the institutions he loves to grow more inclusive and more diverse. he was the 200th person to attain the rank of four-star general, but the sixth african-american. he was the first african-american general officer to lead the army corps in combat. it was the first african-american to command an entire theater of war. if confirmed, he will be the

first african-american at the helm of the defense department in well over 200 years. another milestone. and he is a barrier-breaking career has been like this throughout his career. host: joe biden announcing his pick of lloyd austin. we are asking you about the diversity picks in the biden administration. does diversity matter? (202) 748-8000 if you say yes. (202) 748-8001 if you say no. if it matters, if it doesn't, why? if it doesn't matter, what does matter in terms of picks for potential cabinet nominees? you can also send us a text or tweet a couple of them here by text. this is paul from columbus, ohio, who says, this is typical of the democrats. identity politics, no surprise. diversity is important as long as necessary qualifications are not sacrificed. diversity can provide a variety of points of view.

that provides the best opportunity for good desertions as it prevents group think. michael says, whether they are effective managers will be what matters. steve says, absolutely. if you reverse that question and ask, is one race or gender or religious belief important to you it would sound crazy. ,yet many racists would support it and deny it at the same time. mike in gettysburg says no, diversity does not matter. good morning. caller: thanks for having me on. if you were getting an operation , would it matter who operated on you? rather than somebody who is the most qualified, ok? if you are sending your kids to school, would you want the best teacher or educator or would you want somebody who is diversified? that goes up and down the scale. that is my thought. host: to san diego and william. good morning.

there we go. morning. caller: good morning. it depends on what you mean by diversity. when i look at his cabinet, i don't see a lot of diversity there. i don't see anybody from the left wing like bernie. are there poor people there? people who have experienced poverty? it looks to me like a bunch of corporatists and people who have been relatively successful. i don't see a lot of -- you know, relatively successful. host: carbondale, illinois is next. leah. caller: yes, good morning. it is very hard for a lot of americans, probably 75 million of us, to listen to people talk about a peaceful transfer of power after we went through four years of resist with the coup attempt with the russia collusion and the impeachment collusion, and the slander of

all of trump supporters. oh my gosh, the names we have been called is just very hard. now we are dealing with the voter fraud with all of the illegal aliens voting, the dead people, china bought hunter biden. to talk about diversity being the most important thing, why is no one asking joe biden any important questions after we went through four years of just constant, constant slandering of president trump, a sitting american president and the media excoriated him and his supporters? we all out here feel like, well, china is the media. we have china state media now, and it is very disheartening. 75 million of us will never, ever accept joe biden, because he did not win. he cheated.

host: daniel henniker, opinion columnist in the wall street journal wrote this. the headline, joe biden's cabinet of diversity. does politics have a larger purpose than dividing power? he writes, a pragmatic argument could be made that appointments by diversity are not much different than old urban political machines whose patronage kept the peace among factions. a less benign view is that diversity has become a weapon to silence opposition and suppress dissent. political satire, one of history's most effective weapons of opposition, is forbidden. he says that since late may black lives matter has become a proxy for diversity. blm put into play the intraparty tensions evident in the criticism of mr. biden's cabinet appointments. the media elevation of blm made its political claims for black americans preeminent. and by default reduce those of

hispanics and asians. naturally they noticed. now they are demanding what has come to be called equity in mr. biden's cabinet. that was from dental -- daniel henniker from the wall street journal. former attorney general for california javier pasera. here is what he had to say when he was announced by joe biden. >> almost a year ago on new year's day, my father passed away at home, surrounded by his family. we got to celebrate christmas together. when the end came, my dad knew we were there with him. no one, no one should ever have to die alone in a hospital bed. loved ones forced to stay away. that seems contrary to the values of a great nation. the values that drew my parents to come to america.

manuel and maria theresa had only hope when they arrived in california. a road construction worker with only a sixth grade education and a clerical worker who arrived in her teens. as they help build a better california, they built a good partnership that lasted 67 years. while they never got to experience the inside of a college, they did send their four kids there, as well as to the military. now president-elect biden has offered me a breathtaking opportunity to work with his team to shape our future. i share the president-elect's determination to rebuild unity and civility in the america. we know it takes hard work. we know we must do it together and it will be key to building critical momentum and support for the prevention and treatment of the coronavirus. those values and priorities will help us emerge from this pandemic a stronger, more just,

and more equitable nation. host: it is "washiton journal," and some reaction. rick says this. of course diversity is important. equally important is that the selectees are qualified and that zero future criminals have been selected. robert says, biden's cabinet is full of government-lifers, the same old people. lance says, does diversity matter to me? no, the ability to perform the job as my criteria. i do not think buttigieg is not qualified for his appointed position. pennsylvania, if sine non quon, then competence vanishes into insignificance. you get what you deserve and you deserve what you get. yes, diversity does matter in terms of the biden picks. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. listening to everybody's

comments, it is so interesting. i will try to be brief. i almost want to react to some of them. please forgive me. i am not a minister, but nevertheless, there is a couple of things people need to understand. checking facts, actual facts. president trump lied how many thousands of times? we had a person on the air who does not want to realize that. two things here. read second timothy, third chapter. read also proverbs 6, chapters 15-19. it says about the six things that god despises, seven that he hates. a proud look, a lying tongue. i'm not going to go into the rest. here's the thing.

if god made this planet and the everyone that he made, god does not make junk, for one thing. if god made you, regardless as to what nationality, ethnicity you are, you have not only a right to be here, but he gave you something that is unique, that should be celebrated. we should celebrate the uniqueness of every ethnicity. every race has something unique to bring to the table of man. not just one race. one race trying to control the world is insanity. this woman was talking about 75 million people won't never joe biden, how about the 81 million who put him in office?

also, the word says in revelations that the whole world will be deceived in the end. 75 million means what? host: debbie, sanford, maine, undecided. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. it is like joe biden did not pick his cabinet. it was kamala. all of the democrats and his ear. was in i just feel he has dementia. does anybody see that? it is like he is a president that is president-elect, what he -- but he does not have the mental capability to run this country. it is like, it is just beyond me. it is like, how everything is put in the republican and our faces. yeah, there was 70 million who

voted for him, but that speaks something. we could not belong and say the word trump, because if i was in a workplace or with family it was thrown at us. and we had to shut our mouths. you know what? if you are a christian or whoever you are out there, you know what? cast the first stone. i have never seen something so inhuman toward somebody that is a fellow human being. to just put him through that for four years. it is what it is. i think with biden, you had better strap on your seatbelt. you are going to be in for one hell of a four-year ride. host: one of the positions he has not chosen yet is labor secretary. there is a piece in politico about that. pressure for diversity ways on biden's labor secretary position. concerns over diversity have delayed a final decision and could ultimately lead him to

choose another candidate. five people familiar with the deliberations told politico biden has a personal relationship with walsh, who spent decades as a union leader and member. most recently as head of the boston construction and trades council. richard trumka leads the nation's largest labor organization, and his nomination could appeal to construction workers who supported donald trump. walsh is a white man, and although biden has already nominated most diverse cabinet in history, some groups are pushing for more presentation among the five cabinet posts that remain unfilled. the pacific islander community is urging biden to nominate a candidate at the secretary level, a designation that remains for only three open positions. labor, commerce, and the justice department. rich is in ohio. good morning.

caller: a real interesting conversation. let's look at a case where we are ignoring diversity. in basketball, we don't require people to play there because we have to be diversified. we don't mix it up on race and insist that they do that. why? because it is important to win, and we get the best people for the job. this is our government. we got world-class enemies that will take us apart in a minute. to get hung up on not the best person in these jobs at this level is just insanity. we would not want to lose our basketball games. if it is important in basketball, it's got to be 1000 times more important for our country. i will hang up and hear your answers. host: to james in mississippi. caller: good morning. i want to say to you and to all

of the people, i thank the lord jesus christ for keeping us safe in this country. i also thank the lord jesus back and talk about diversity and all of this stuff. you've got to understand, african-americans caller: white women are suppressed by white males. diversity came along -- and let's pute these people on the same level for us.

education, economic, communities. they forced integration on america. goingorced, rather than into tina neighborhoods, african-american neighborhoods and making it even with white people, they said we are going to try forced integration. i'm saying today, that people who say president donald j. was the president for everybody, i don't disagree with that. you know why? he was the president. now biden is the president, and you got these people calling in when they destroyed president obama. they destroyed him. the only thing i have against this administration is, they say they want diversity. well, you know what? florida,a senator in she is a senator.

she was a 27-year-old -- i mean a 27-year chief of police officer. she would have made a great attorney general. yes, her skin may be darker than the rest of them, but her heart and her soul, i was looking for her to be the attorney general. they put two white males in there, and they want to switch over and put this black person as -- host: james, i will let you go there. the attorney general position, one of the three yet to be announced. thecommerce secretary and labor secretary. louisiana, this is alexandria, louisiana. go ahead. caller: good morning. of the comments and individuals nominated, it is clear that president-elect biden has looked at the superficial qualities of diversity in terms

of differences in skin and such. but i haven't seen is whether there is a diversity in terms of what matters, and that is in what we think. i think it was benjamin franklin that said if we are all thinking alike, we are not thinking at all. whether heo be seen has chosen people based on that very critical element of diversity, diversity of thought. host: what recent administration do you think may best exemplified that? that had a diverse -- talking about the cabinet alone -- had a diverse number of different thought, as you put it? who best exemplified that? caller: i don't know there is an exemplar. there was some diversity of thought in the previous administration, trump administration. kelly, jim mattis, of course they were let go, what i

think the reason they were let go -- and this is just an observation -- they did have diversity of thought, but they did not have a clean thought. one of the things that is important when you have a different view from the leaders to express it, but after expressing it not abandon the team if the leader says, i appreciate that input, i appreciate that amp up but that is not how i am going to make the decision. it is always a balancing act when you -- you need people to .ell you know -- no host: you are on our undecided line. how do you think joe biden will be reacting to those alternative views. will he be the type that opposes that, absorbs the opinion and changes his mind? guest: --

shown a lot of anger. when he was asked about his son hunter -- that is a sensitive subject of course. to lash out by saying one horse pony -- i'm not sure what that meant but i think he was trying to say you are a bigoted horse. i think lashing out like that shows he is not receptive to differing opinions. it is hard tod tell how he is going to wrap it. he has emotional displays when difficultd with a questions. host: will in louisiana, appreciate your call this morning. the jobless benefits ended last night. u.s. jobless benefit pushed off

pushes millions to financial cliff edge. megan myers single mom from nebraska thought she could get some respite. the daily struggle to house and aed her two kids during lateric crisis, but days president trump said he would law.ign the new bill into that bill still not signed as of midnight last night. those jobless benefits suspended or ended at midnight last night. let's hear from carmen in the bronx who does say diversity does matter in cabinet picks. caller: you are a great host and do is john. my first comment i would like to thank you terms of --

to the 80 million americans who took trump out of office. thank you to the 80 million diverse americans took trump out of office. the celebrations that took place all over the country shows there was no fraud. he just lost. for many republican, trump was hit -- was their lord and savior. in terms of cabinet, there have asian oren -- being an native american, or a woman, or a gay person, they were not given that chance even when they were the best. they were like you are the best but you cannot play. took 2020 before we could find qualified african-americans?

they were always there. is putting in people who are already the best. maga is a semi white nationalist movement and he knew how to play to them. they will never understand how he lost. he literally is their lord and savior. -- jasonkham, illinois says diversity does not matter. tell us why. caller: i believe diversity does not matter because like tom said, they selected him for secretary of agriculture and i -- tom was in obama's administration. isy keep saying like biden

trying to bring back obama era officials. actually helped pick some of those cabinet members, some of those appointees that obama appointed so biden has a close relationship with them. i think biden is doing a good job with diversity. i am a black as well, but i think if a white person is more qualified to lead and a black person, then i will choose the white person over the black person. white -- race does not matter. does matter, it but at the end of the day you have to pick qualified officials and i think that is what biden is doing. host: arlington, virginia, undecided line. go ahead.

caller: i thought the other color hit the nail on the head. it diversity is important in some aspects but this administration might have the wrong idea about diversity. diversity in thought is not solely tied to the color of your skin. they have done a decent job in picking some members so far, that i think some of the similar sentiment of other colors, the callers, the idea of qualifications first. i think it is ultimately a balancing act. but are doing an ok job, there needs to be deeper thought into some of the qualifications. the interior on secretary pick -- of the headline is nomination of first

native american secretary brings hope, tears and defiance. inive americans celebrated play bluff. where haalland grew up. moments haaland's name started trending. she posted day split screen raising a fist and crying. the emotional outpouring arose from a people who have internalized their brutal place in american history -- a forced

death march of nearly 50,000 for thousands of miles from the south to the west -- on top of that children were required to attend reeducation camps where they were severed from their native tongues and culture. with little representation in federal government, nearly 2.5 became a since america nation, people were surprised a woman who grew up on tribal land might represent them in the cabinet. the is teresa asking about diversity in the biden cabinet, does it matter? caller: i think it does, especially if you listen to tvir stories they told on about how they grew up, many were immigrants, a lot of them up by poor orught

uneducated parents. they have gone through all the adversities. i think they need to be represented because that is america. florida, this is kenneth. caller: i do not think diversity matters. i think people need to be in the government with people who look and act just like them. i do not inc. at shed matter at all. not think it should matter at all. note, if you will allow me, -- anyway, have a good day. -- inkenneth on florida florida. jerry tweets if you have a well-qualified and diverse staff

, it provides a level of preparation that a homogenous group cannot. violet said's monolithic team only creates monolithic -- said monolithic teams only create yes,ithic solutions so, diversity matters. a professioned when it was still overwhelmingly the-dominated, i have seen positive effect of women's point of view." really a thingt that happens when everybody in the room is a neoliberal into the people who are not are put in positions they want to be put "n. we move on to rosetta in new

rochelle, new york. caller: good morning. happy holidays. happy kwanzaa. i think diversity is a good thing. we are all different people in this country and we should be open to different diversity. is concerned,p someone mentioned earlier on they call that biden has dementia or something like that. i do not think that is the case. i think he is the president-elect and he will be on january 20 sworn in. trump is the one who has the problem. he continues to have the problem. thisll not vote -- sign paper, but all the times that people were arguing over how much to give for the stimulus --

him and mnuchin are good friends. why didn't he discuss that with him all the time they were deliberating? now he wants to hold this up. he does not want to give you $2000. 11thhe will do is at the hour he will sign this bill for essay "thed probably , -- and probably say -- host: thank you. bobbitt in michigan. michigan. caller: the rockthrowing would never stop. reality today suggests

affirmative action is a reason topreclude college entrance whites and asian americans. amazing the libertarian -- liberal mentality would admit to such perversion and racism. you are excluding whites and asians because of their race, their ethnicity. that is racist, short -- sir. here is what she had to say when her pick was unannounced. >> i am humbled and honored by the trust you have placed in me to become a member of your cabinet as ambassador to the knighted nations. in the years i have worked in government, i am always struck by only in america we would be where we are today, where life can be hard and cruel but there is hope in the struggle.

there is promise in our dreams, where you learn to believe in yourself and that anything is possible. like both of you learned from my family. president-elect, thank you for those generous words you said about me. my parents had very little where we grow up but they gave me everything they had and i know how proud they would be of this day. @csp on twitter, it is anwj. minorities over the years. -- i lookedations qualifications."

important because it better reflect the diversity in the u.s.. " " diversity comes in several forms. if you do not have diversity of thought, do you really have diversity?" caller: this is a yes and no question. way, -- say had that host: make sure you turn down the volume when you get through on the phone. to texas, teresa, go ahead. caller: happy holidays, everybody. one thing that i truly cannot

understand why on earth evendent trump was ever allowed to run for president. one, it should have been so obvious that there would be so much conflict of interest. anyone with an eighth-grade education can see that. --o not know where a everyone is coming from -- he makes money off of being the president and people are gullible enough to think he does not take a salary and this and that. there is so much laundering of money going on with him and all countries.ifferent it is a sad shame. being sog about him smart and the greatest

businessman ever. i don't know too many businessmen who go bankruptcy to our three times. his reputation is horrible with the banks. he has to do all his basic money loaning and getting money from different countries and what have you. no one knows out there where and what and how the united states money is going. host: we are spending the last 15 minutes of this hour or so with you talking about picks in the biden administration. it does diversity matter? if you say yes, (202) 748-8000. , (202) 748-8001. , (202)re undecided

748-8002. " they are the parties most solid voting demographic and the most dissatisfied with the change the party has delivered them. in south carolina the state that helped propel mr. biden to the democratic nomination and where about half of the democratic electorate is black voters complain of receiving campaign promises from politicians while they are running but not being prioritized once they are elected. there are similar grievances among voters in cities like milwaukee, detroit and philadelphia." knowing this is the first

time an american president has sent an openly gay person to -- senate for i remember being 17 years old and seeing an appointee of clinton who was turned away because he was gay. at the time i had no aspirations anythingappointed to -- appointed by the president to anything, still i watched that story and i learned something about some of the limit that existed in this country when it comes to who is allowed to belong. just as important, i saw how those limits could be challenged. helpecades later, i cannot but think of a 17-year-old

somewhere who may be watching right now, someone who wonders where or whether they belong in the world or even in their family and i'm thinking about the message today is sending to them, so thank you esther president-elect for honoring mr. commitment -- president-elect for honoring your commitment to diversity and thank you madam vice president-elect for your encouragement and friendship. the line for your comments by text, (202) 748-8003. no.ie says " --"rsity for its own sake yes, it does, " matter. we are a diverse country.

" governments, " a representative -- it implements more exclusive policies and leaders from diverse backgrounds better serve the american people. larry is in new jersey. go ahead. ofler: the concept diversity, many may not be seeing it the way it is. arersity implies these people not of the predominance. the predominance often have success dictated on the privilege that of us are afforded, whereas those from diverse backgrounds often times their success is because of the extra effort, labor, talent, abilities and the strides they made against all that advisory.

they can bring that to the table. being able to be open minded biden for president-elect to be looking into that pool of talent and effort in bringing that forth, that is a good idea. best talent pool. any employer should do that. the previous administration we had so much cronyism and other reasons people were put in these positions, so far it looks like the president-elect is trying to get the best talent pool and he is turning to the areas where people had to work harder to get there and be successful. mark in sanl go to jose, california who says diversity does not matter.

-- can think about it anybody name a country where the majority wants to be a minority? cannot ever tell you about it because it is like going to china or japan or korea and is saying there are just too many koreans here. we need to exit up a little bit. it up a little bit. oft: here is the headline this piece -- the diversity of biden's cabinet will be just for show if it ends up providing bad policies. it leaves us with a glaring problem. people of color are supposed to be getting excited for the nomination of minorities who policies that often result in the harm of

communities of color here and abroad. people of color have one option left -- hope these appoint these make a genuine effort to make the lives of their constituents better. considering our country's putory and its tendency to to prioritize profit, that does not seem very likely." caller: i understand why there is so much weight on aydin to -- on diverse cabinet biden to pick a diverse cabinet. in the obama administration, he had black attorney generals, he defense,secretaries of he had a white vice president, two white secretaries of eight,

all of which are qualified. harris, he had a lot of and she was just the most qualified. we should pick qualified -- should we pick qualified candidates or diverse candidates for history record? record?istory to i don't know. pickingbiden is qualified candidates. host: dan is up next in washington dc. good morning. aller: guest: i -- caller: i think it is important to have qualified candidates but it depends on how you define

diversity. if you talk about it only on gender or ethnicity lines. you will not get the best candidates. if you are talking about labral's from ivy league schools, -- liberals from ivy league schools, it might limit your ability to have a best candidate that makes a well-rounded cabinet. maybe if you take someone from a non-ivy league school or a different background or skill set, i think that would be a better definition of what diversity is waste not on identity or gender lines. from grand junction, there.o, ron, hi caller: diversity does not creed, race, color, or

does not matter. qualifications is what matters. host: ok. expand on that. do you think he is picking mainly for qualifications are mainlydiversity -- or for diversity caller: i think he is picking mainly for diversity over qualifications. i do not think pete buttigieg is qualified for that position. just saying. host: here is missouri. caller: i think kamala harris will be a great vice president. diversity is great and necessary, but these nominations are not about brains. as they are about who cares the most about all their neighbors like the golden rule and has the guts to stand up to the rich and passedl to get policies

that benefit everybody. nominee as like a long as they do not put certain issues i think are important in peril. for instance, we need to secure our borders. we can do this without separating families permanently like our crazy president would like to do, but with a bipartisan bill. we do not have enough decent paying jobs for the people living in this country already. throw in automation, we are lucky any working-class people can get a job that is decent. we are on our way to becoming a third world country. host: this is from the tennessean. wait fordline -- details continues as federal team investigates nashville christmas explosion.

federal agents are investigating at the christmas day explosion in nashville. they sharpened their focus, investigating and antioch apartment complex. more than 500 citizen tips were driving the investigation. fbi agent staff were collaborating on the case. we will get a call or two more. pennsylvania, go ahead. caller: thank you for having me on the show. i just wanted to say right now what we are going through, i am very undecided of how we should feel about the pick of what biden is doing. in a way, qualifications do matter and diversity does matter. , ust now the mess we are in americans, we need to do better.

we really need to do better and we need to start today, make a better world for us because the things going on in this world between this virus, the bombing and all that, we should not live like