Obama Faces Diversity Complaints: Too Many White Males

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Minority leaders, especially in Congress, are concerned about the largely white male makeup of the Obama administration's financial team. The concern reached a peak in late December when the NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Bankers Association, and National Association of Black Accountants dispatched envoys to meet with the financial transition team. The groups provided names of people available to fill key roles, according to sources, but their envoys also focused on pushing the Obama financial team to support housing and financial policies that help low-income people. A month later, there have been no jobs for the names submitted. Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has met with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel about the lack of diversity. "We are concerned about this and will continue to monitor it," said a caucus official. Stay tuned: Lee is now pushing for a meeting with Treasury Secretary Geithner. "Representative Lee is concerned," said a person close to the CBC. "She expects to see diversity in this very important area. This could become an issue for the president if it is not quickly resolved."