When Donald Trump was sworn in Friday and replaced Barack Obama as president, there was a shift in addition to the obvious change in administrations.
The 4 most powerful people in Washington are white men again
Is this part of “make America great again”?
With Trump as president, Mike Pence as vice president, Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader, and Paul Ryan as House speaker, nearly all of the most powerful political roles in Washington are now filled by straight, white men.
The last time this was the case was during George W. Bush’s second term, before Nancy Pelosi became speaker of the House in 2006.
That step backward for representation of racial minority groups and women stands in contrast to the historic development that the first African-American presidency represented.
The optics — and distribution of power — mirror the demographic of Trump’s strongest supporters: White men voted for him at higher rates than any other group.
The new makeup of is just one early data point when it comes to determining what exactly the “great again” America Trump has promised will look like.
Watch: The long fight for a female president
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By John A. Farrell
By Abraham Newman and Daniel Nexon
