As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, the President-elect has selected three women of color so far to serve in top positions in his administration, including South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was a sharp critic of Trump during the 2016 Republican primary campaign.
While Trump’s selections have predominantly been white males, the President-elect has selected three women who are children of immigrants as he assembles his administration.
Nikki Haley
The South Carolina governor is Trump’s pick for US Ambassador to the UN.
Haley, who was born in Bamberg, South Carolina, to Sikh immigrants from Punjab, India, has already made history, becoming the first woman governor in South Carolina’s history.
As a rising star in the Republican Party, she initially endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 primary and later backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz after Rubio dropped out of the race.
Haley sharply disavowed Trump in the past and said in February that Trump is “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president.”
Elaine Chao
Elaine Chao, the former labor secretary, is Trump’s choice for transportation secretary, an official briefed on the matter told CNN on Tuesday.
Chao, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and arrived in the US with her family at the age of 8, became the first Asian-American woman to serve in a Cabinet position.
She served as secretary of labor under President George W. Bush from 2001 through 2009 and her tenure in the Bush administration is the longest anyone has served in that position since World War II.
Chao has been married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell since 1993.
Both Haley and Chao will be vetted before they can be confirmed during Senate confirmation hearings for the Cabinet-level positions.
Seema Verma
Verma, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants, is Trump’s pick as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Verma, a founder of a health policy consulting firm, is an Indiana resident, who has close ties to Vice-President elect Mike Pence after she designed the state’s Obamacare Medicaid expansion model.
“I am pleased to nominate Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Trump said in a statement. “She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems.”
Verma, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, served as the Indiana’s health reform lead following the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.