Issue 38 • OCTOBER 31, 2022
👋 Good morning, and welcome to The Yappie’s AAPI politics briefing — your guide to the policy news and activism affecting Asian Americans + Pacific Islanders. S
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— Edited by Shawna Chen
THE BIDEN ERA
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland speaks at the Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 15, 2021. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Interior Department to begin formally consulting Native Hawaiians
The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced its first-ever consultation policy with Native Hawaiian communities in October. The policy will require the agency to engage in pre-decisional consultations with Native Hawaiian organizations and community leaders regarding agency plans and actions.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
✍️ What’s included: The initial draft of the new policies and accompanying procedures establishes bi-annual meetings between the Interior secretary and Native Hawaiian community leaders. Also included are provisions that mandate staff training on engaging in consultations and a record of documentation to be implemented across DOI bureaus and offices.
Hawai‘i government officials praised the announcement as a step towards the inclusion of Native Hawaiian perspectives in federal policymaking and a greater recognition of self-governance, reports Michael Tsai for Spectrum News.
🗣️ Yes, but: The Interior Department's draft policies recognize self-determination through the government-to-sovereign relationship between the U.S. and Native Hawaiian community, but Native Hawaiians have pushed back against the recent establishment of this relationship, which is similar to that of many tribal nations.
Kanaka Maoli scholar and activist Uahikea Maile, in a 2021 opinion piece for The Guardian, describes federal recognition as a “symbolic form of self-governance” that denies the Native Hawaiian government territorial jurisdiction, ignores claims for land back, and aims to “cover up the original crime” of illegal annexation.
📅 The big picture: The agency's announcement arrives ahead of the White House Tribal Nations Summit scheduled to take place at the end of November. Both initiatives fall under President Joe Biden’s broader goals of strengthening ties with and fulfilling promises to Indigenous communities, but his administration’s efforts overlay a centuries-long history of struggles for Indigenous sovereignty.
CATCH UP
TRANSPORTATION DEPT. TACKLES PUBLIC SAFETY: Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hosted a roundtable in New York City last week to address crime on the city’s public transit system. The roundtable, which was attended by staff at the Federal Transit Administration and New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as various Asian American advocacy organizations, was a bid to respond to multiple high-profile subway attacks earlier this year in the Sunset Park neighborhood—Brooklyn’s Chinatown—and at Times Square.
What’s next: New York City’s efforts to address hate crimes against Asian Americans have included arts campaigns and informational resources. Asian American elected officials and community leaders, however, have called on Mayor Eric Adams to take more urgent action in the city at large, including reforming the New York Police Department, POLITICO’s Erin Durkin writes.
💉 HHS HOMES IN ON HEALTH EQUITY: The Department of Health and Human Services hosted a special briefing last week with physicians of color to discuss the updated COVID-19 vaccines and the Biden administration’s continual work on health equity. The conversation focused on the role of these doctors and medical groups as trusted messengers to boost vaccine confidence.
Hand in hand: HHS also held a multicultural press briefing in partnership with the Multicultural Media and Correspondents Association’s BIPOCXChange on the same topic as part of a push to broaden communication with and outreach to communities of color.
Worth noting: 7.3% of people ages five and up have gotten the updated booster in the U.S.
📡 ON OUR RADAR
Inside the U.S. Supreme Court. Photo courtesy of Jackie Hope via Flickr.
🏛️ HANGING IN THE BALANCE: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for and against affirmative action policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina on Monday.
The latest from a Washington Post-Schar School poll: “More than 6 in 10 Americans support a ban on the consideration of race in college admissions … but an equally robust majority endorses programs to boost racial diversity on campuses.”
65% of Asian Americans say colleges and universities should not consider race or ethnicity when evaluating applications, according to the poll.
— By
Cindy Xie
Additional writing by Shawna Chen
A MESSAGE FROM THE YAPPIE
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ON THE HILL
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (left) and Ted Lieu (right) could be contenders for spots in House Democratic Caucus leadership after the midterm elections. Photos via Flickr.
🚨 CHANGING OF THE GUARD: Younger Democrats are clamoring to position themselves for leadership in the party, NBC News’ Scott Wong reports. That includes Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California), who has his eye on the caucus vice chair, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington), who has said she is looking to move into another leadership role.
Yes, but: “My assumption is that nobody’s going to be unopposed,” one House Democrat told Wong.
FALLOUT OVER PAUL PELOSI’S ATTACK: The brutal assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-California) husband last week sent shock waves throughout the country and reinforced calls for greater security measures for Congress members, something Jayapal has repeatedly spoken out about since a threatening incident outside her Seattle home.
PULSE
A screengrab from Rep. Michelle Steel's ad against Democratic challenger Jay Chen.
📺 UPDATE—STEEL’S AD ATTACKING JAY CHEN DRAWS IRE ON CAPITOL HILL:
Despite already facing a flurry of criticism for sending mailers depicting her Democratic rival Jay Chen as pro-Communist, Rep. Michelle Steel (R-California) has doubled down on her rhetoric, releasing an ad that falsely claims he “invited the CCP into Cal classrooms.” Democrats were quick to react.
“Let’s be clear: anti-Asian hate is a real and deadly national crisis. Shame on @MichelleSteelCA for so blatantly stoking that hatred to question Lt. Commander Jay Chen’s patriotism and score cheap political points,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) tweeted.
“Michelle Steel’s ad … shows her desperation to get MAGA Republican support,” added Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i).
“It’s sad to see race baiting from an Asian American politician,” tweeted Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), who noted that Steel “says nothing” about former President Donald Trump’s anti-Asian rhetoric.
🔎 ICYMI
THE BLAME GAME BACKDROP: Steel’s ad comes as a new report from Stop AAPI Hate warns politicians against using anti-China rhetoric that could inflame anti-Asian hate in the U.S.
What they’re saying: “Our research has found that perpetrators of hate incidents toward Asians and Asian Americans repeat rhetoric they hear from candidates and elected officials blaming China for public health crises, for economic downturns and for national security concerns. This trend becomes apparent when comparing hate incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate with inflammatory language recently used by politicians.”
— By
Shawna Chen
2022 WATCH
Georgia State Rep. Bee Nguyen appears at a rally with Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Photo courtesy of Bee's campaign.
Meet the Asian American candidates hoping to make history in key states
👉
There are seven days left to vote in this year’s midterm elections. Here are some of the national and state races we’re watching.
ELECTION PREVIEW
GEORGIA
🗳️ BEE NGUYEN’S BATTLE FOR SECRETARY OF STATE: The junior state representative will face incumbent Georgia Sec. Brad Raffensperger (R) in the battleground race this November.
Nguyen is the first Vietnamese American to hold a seat in the state legislature. She was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2017 to replace Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Key point: As secretary of state, Nguyen would oversee voting in a hotly contested swing state. Raffensberger drew national attention in 2020 when he refused to bow to Trump’s call to overturn election results in the state.
Of note: Former President Barack Obama recently stumped for Nguyen, Abrams, and Rep. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) at a rally in Atlanta.
VIRGINIA
🗳️ POLITICAL NEWCOMER HUNG CAO SEEKS SHAKE-UP: Cao (R), a retired Navy captain and first-time candidate, will face incumbent Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D) in the race for Virginia’s 10th congressional district, which is largely seen by analysts as an indicator of how the rest of the state will vote. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) lost the district by a slim margin last year.
Criticizing the status quo: Cao has slammed Biden’s plan to relieve student debt, invoking the experience of his Vietnamese refugee parents whom he said “tucked away every single penny” to pay for his education.
“A lot of American families are doing the same things,” he said during a debate earlier this month. “It’s unfair that what we’re saving for our kids, some kids get a free ride.”
MICHIGAN
🗳️ SHRI THANEDAR LOOKS TO GAIN AFTER REDISTRICTING: Thanedar (D), who currently represents the district including Detroit in Michigan’s House of Representatives, will face Republican Abdul El-Sayed in the bid for Michigan’s 13th congressional seat. Thanedar, an Indian immigrant businessman, previously ran for Michigan governor in 2018, placing third in the Democratic primary.
Notable: Thanedar won a crowded Democratic primary in June, beating out eight Black candidates. For the first time in almost 70 years, Detroit, the nation’s largest majority Black city, may not have a Black representative in Congress, writes Clyde McGrady for the New York Times.
The winner would replace incumbent Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), who is running for the seat in Michigan’s newly drawn 12th district. Thanedar, who is seen as a shoo-in at this point, has worked to reassure Black communities that “this seat is owned by the people,” Bridge Michigan’s Malachi Barrett notes.
MASSACHUSETTS
🗳️ REPUBLICAN DEAN TRAN VIES FOR HOUSE SEAT: The former state senator will face two-term incumbent Lori Trahan (D) in the general election for Massachusetts’ 3rd congressional district this November.
Tran became the first Vietnamese American to hold elected office in Massachusetts when he was elected to the Fitchburg City Council in 2005. He describes himself as a fiscal conservative and advocates for abortion restrictions, accusing Trahan of “killing minority babies” with her support for codifying Roe v. Wade.
Remember: Tran was accused in 2020 of assigning staff in the state Senate to complete tasks that would help advance his re-election campaign, breaking legislature rules and violating state law. Tran lost his re-election bid that November.
Tran drew heat earlier this year when he was accused of gun theft, among other charges in an incident involving an elderly constituent. Tran pleaded not guilty and filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D), who is running for governor, for allegedly acting based on political motivations.
HAWAI‘I
🗳️ JILL TOKUDA LIKELY TO REPLACE OUTGOING KAI KAHELE: The former state senator will face political newcomer Joe Akana (R), a Native Hawaiian who served 10 years as an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Air Force, in the House race for Hawai‘i’s 2nd congressional district.
Tokuda was first elected in 2006 to represent the 24th state senatorial district. During her time in the chamber, Tokuda helped to expand access to publicly-funded preschools and chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where she oversaw Hawai‘i’s budget.
Her platform: She has made housing and affordability a key component of her campaign and also vowed to champion legislation that would lower the blood quantum requirements for beneficiaries of Hawaiian homelands, the Honolulu Civil Beat’s Nick Grube reports.
Catch up on other races we’re monitoring and follow our live election coverage next Tuesday, Nov. 8.
👀 SPOTTED
NEW SUPER PAC FOR PROGRESSIVE VIET AMERICANS: The Progressive Vietnamese American Organization has announced the launch of the PIVOT Victory Fund, the first Vietnamese American super PAC in the U.S.
The progressive group has endorsed a number of Asian Americans in local and state races this year, including House hopeful Jay Chen (D) in California and candidate for Georgia Secretary of State Bee Nguyen (D).
— By
Mary Yang
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