Obama's second term Cabinet lacks diversity, sparks criticism

>> well, his first cabinet was the most diverse in history but with the recent choices, some questions about whether 2013 will be a step back.

>> there are obviously other remarkably capable women in positions of high office in this administration and will continue to be.

>> it would be nice to see more diversity in the near future and i predict president obama , who is keen on women's leadership will get the point some time soon.

>> msnbc's richard liu. how does it look?

>> it's early but the next presidential cabinet could be less diverse. here's a roster so far. for defense secretary , it goes from leon panetta to chuck hagel . no change in diversity there. cia director from petraeus to john brennan , no change. tim geithner to jack lou, no change there. john kerry is nominated to replace secretary of state hillary clinton , that's one less woman, the possible replacement with ashton carter , one less minority. and head of the epa lisa jackson , the first black woman to hold that title, her replacement is unknown. of hundreds of senior appoint ees and nominees, 48% were minority or women according to the national journal . and 13 out of 22 of his first cabinet members were diverse. that's a record. but it's not only about ethnicity and gender, the president could potentially nominate the first openly gay cabinet member . he could choose more with business executive experience. his team head count dropped 25% on that measure. age diversity is an issue too. right now two-thirds of obama's team are baby boomers . history shows cabinet choices have lasting effects, madeleine albright 's nomination was followed by 15 years of diverse secretaries of state . farther back, president lincoln 's cabinet strategy as doris concerns goodwin's book describes, the ideal lives on. and how the choices are also about the future face of diversity at the highest levels of american political power .

>> we'll continue to watch.

>> it's early though, right.