The number of Asian Americans elected to Congress is at a record high
18 March 2021
Data: Brookings Institution, U.S. House and Senate; Note: Data does not include non-voting members. Chart: Sara Wise/Axios
The number of Asian Americans elected to Congress has increased significantly through the years and is currently at a record high, but the total representation still only amounts to about 3% of the membership.
Why it matters: Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), chairperson of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, has made it her mission to increase Asian American and Pacific Islander representation across the spectrum of government.
- CAPAC has had meetings with the White House and throughout the administration to hold President Biden to his promise of building a federal branch reflecting the diversity of the country, a caucus aide told Axios.
- There are several members of the community represented at the highest levels of Biden’s administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris. She made history as the first South Asian American elected to that office.
- On Wednesday, the Senate also confirmed Katherine Tai, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, to serve as U.S. trade representative, making her the first woman of color to serve in the role.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.