US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated Miguel Cardona to be his education secretary, marking a new record for the potential number of Latinos in the cabinet.
"In Miguel Cardona, America will have an experienced and dedicated public school teacher leading the way," Mr Biden said.
The incoming president said Mr Cardona's appointment "will help us address systemic inequities" and "tackle the mental health crisis in our education system," as well as ease student debt and give teachers a raise.
Mr Biden, who takes office on January 20, has already tapped Alejandro Mayorkas as head of the Department of Homeland Security and Xavier Becerra as health secretary.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) welcomed the nomination and congratulated Mr Biden for making good on his promise to surpass the number of Latinos in the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama.
"The choice of Miguel A Cardona as Secretary of Education signals that now we have the possibility, if he is confirmed, to see for the first time in history, three Latinos in the cabinet," the organisation said.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) said Mr Cardona, as a native of Puerto Rico, faced difficulties learning English in preschool and has spent the bulk of his career working to bridge the gap between minority students and their peers.
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Gallery: Joe Biden's diverse cabinet
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US President-elect Joe Biden has made appointments for his senior White House staff. AFP -
Secretary of State: Antony J Blinken. AFP -
Director of National Intelligence: Avril Haines. AFP -
Ambassador to the UN: Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Bloomberg -
Secretary of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. Reuters -
Former Secretary of State John Kerry will be the special presidential envoy for climate for US President-elect Joe Biden. EPA -
President-elect Joe Biden selected Jake Sullivan as his National Security Advisor, pictured here with Hillary Clinton. EPA -
Senior Advisor: Mike Donilon. Seen here on the right, alongside his brother Tom Donilon. Getty Images -
Deputy Chief of Staff: Jen OMalley Dillon. Getty Images -
Counsellor: Steve Ricchetti. Seen here while serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for then President Bill Clinton. Reuters -
Senior Adviser to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement: Cedric Richmond. AFP -
Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs: Julie Chavez Rodriguez. Seen here while serving as an aide to Kamala Harris. AFP -
Biden has also appointed Annie Tomasini as Director of Oval Office Operations, Dana Remus will be Counsel to the President, Julissa Reynoso Pantaleon as Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden, and Anthony Bernal will be Senior Advisor to Dr.Biden. Bloomberg -
Reema Dodin is a Palestinian-American political veteran and will become deputy director of the White House office of legislative affairs. Image: Twitter
