The 10 of the 13 United States senators who voted against Pete Buttigieg on becoming the first openly gay cabinet member to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate also received a grade of F from the American Federation of Labor–Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The other three were recently elected and have yet to be graded by the two organizations that have been traditional, but imperfect leaders in securing inclusivity and diversity.  

Buttigieg’s confirmation as the 19th U.S. Secretary of Transportation makes him the first openly LGBTQ person to serve in a Senate-approved cabinet position as well as the youngest secretary to ever head the department. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana was confirmed by a vote of 86-13, with one senator, Patrick Toomey (R-PA), not voting.

The vote by the 13 did not surprise many. “A common denominator in those who hate on Buttigieg is that they are the same ones who hate African Americans and seek to destroy labor unions,” explained Port Of Harlem reader Ronald King of Washington, DC.  A look at their voting records indicated how they would vote and breathes life into the words of Coretta Scott King, wife of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "There is a connection between the racist, the anti-Semite, the sexist, and the homophobe.  They all share a dehumanizing fear that prevents them from having empathy for the unjust suffering of their brothers and sisters in the human family."

The following 10 senators voted against confirming “Mayor” Pete. Followed by each name and their party affiliation and state, is the score out of 100 they earned from the AFL-CIO, followed by the one they earned from the NAACP. Hagerty, Marshal, and Tuberville were recently elected and no score is available.

Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) (5) (0)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA) (12) (0)
Tom Cotton (R-AR) (11) (7)
Ted Cruz (R-TX) (6) (7)
Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Josh Hawley (R-MO) (5) (7)
James Lankford (R-OK) (11) (7)
Roger Marshall (R-KS)
Marco Rubio (R-FL) (17) (13)
Rick Scott (R-FL) (11) (7)
Tim Scott (R-SC) (11) (7)
Richard Shelby (R-AL) (21) (7)
Tommy Tuberville (R-AL)

Additionally, all 13, but Cassidy, voted that Trump’s Impeachment Trial is unconstitutional.

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Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins became the first women and first known LGBQT+ in the cabinet under Democratic Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the first African-American cabinet member, Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Robert C. Weaver in 1966.

Patricia Roberts Harris became the first African-American female cabinet member when she was appointed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1977 by Democrat Jimmy Carter. HUD soon became known as the “Negro” cabinet position until Democrat Bill Clinton appointed Blacks in an array of cabinet positions including Hazel R. O'Leary as Secretary of Energy.

See also in The Jerusalem Post: Jewish community vocal over Kamala Harris's Jewish husband