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Comment by Kathryn McEwen on January 10, 2013 at 5:20am

HILDA SOLIS RESIGNS FROM LABOR DEPARTMENT

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/labor-secretary-hilda-solis-r...

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis resigns

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Solis was the first Hispanic woman to lead a major federal agency

By JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 1/9/13 4:30 PM EST Updated: 1/9/13 7:04 PM EST

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Wednesday she is resigning from the administration, a decision that comes as President Barack Obama is filling out his second-term Cabinet.

Solis was the first Hispanic woman to lead a major federal agency, and her departure seems certain to increase pressure on Obama to add more diversity among his Cabinet and senior staff.

Diversity issue in Obama’s 2nd term Cabinet? (POLITICO LIVE)

Her decision to resign, along with the departures of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson, leaves three women in Cabinet-level posts: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Small Business Administration administrator Karen Mills. Solis’s departure also leaves just one other Hispanic, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, in the Cabinet.

Solis told Labor Department staff in a letter that leaving is “one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made, because I have taken our mission to heart.”

“As the daughter of parents who worked in factories, paid their union dues and achieved their goal of a middle class life, and as the first Latina to head a major federal agency, it has been an incredible honor to serve,” she added.

Obama thanked Solis for her service. “I am grateful to Secretary Solis for her steadfast commitment and service not only to the administration, but on behalf of the American people. I wish her all the best in her future endeavors,” he said in a statement.

The president has come under fire for a lack of diversity among his senior advisers. Obama has nominated Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to replace Clinton and former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel to take over for outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

Obama also will nominate White House chief of staff Jack Lew as soon as Thursday to replace Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, a person briefed on the matter told POLITICO.

As Solis’s departure was announced, a White House official said that Sebelius, Attorney General Eric Holder and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki will all remain in their current jobs. The official did not address whether Napolitano would stay.

White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters hours earlier that Obama believes “diversity is important.” News stories questioning the diversity of Obama’s aides “are in reaction to a couple of appointments,” Carney said, and he urged that critics wait for the “totality” of second-term appointments before judging the diversity of the president’s team.

Obama used his statement to praise the work Solis did to help boost the economy during the past four years.

“Secretary Solis has been a critical member of my economic team as we have worked to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and strengthen the economy for the middle class,” he said. “Her efforts have helped train workers for the jobs of the future, protect workers’ health and safety and put millions of Americans back to work.”

Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO, said that Solis “brought urgently needed change” to the department and that he hopes her successor will continue her legacy.

The White House declined to say whether the president has a candidate in mind