Marcia Fudge, the Democratic Representative from Ohio and former Congressional Black Caucus Chair, will serve as the Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary under the incoming Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration.
If confirmed, Fudge, 68, would count as only the second Black woman to lead HUD. Patricia Harris served in that role under President Jimmy Carter.
“We are relieved knowing that the same determination Rep. Fudge brought to defending hungry families from cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be brought to tackle one of the biggest looming threats facing Americans during this economic crisis: evictions and housing insecurity,” The CBC offered in a statement.
Fudge, who currently serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, has a long history of championing civil and human rights. Her selection again shows that President-Elect Biden is keeping his campaign promise of a diverse cabinet and staff.
“It will be the most diverse in American history,” Biden said earlier this year. The President-Elect this week also named retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense. If confirmed, Lloyd would become the first African American to serve in that role.
Biden also picked Xavier Becerra, who is Hispanic, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Alejandro Mayorkas, whose parents immigrated from Cuba to the U.S., for Secretary of Homeland Security.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a Black woman, was tapped as Ambassador to the United Nations.
“If I were to be named, certainly it’s an honor and a privilege to be asked to be in a President’s cabinet. It is something that probably in my wildest dreams I never would have thought about,” Fudge told CNN.
“So, if I can help this President in any way possible, I’m more than happy.”
