AAPI Nexus: Policy, Practice and Community

The 116th Congress is making history in representational politics with the highest number of AAPI legislators in U.S. history. However, AAPI legislators’ increased visibility comes at the same moment as white supremacist politicians and pundits racialize a global pandemic. How have AAPI legislators responded to the COVID-19 outbreak? Our findings provide preliminary support for our hypotheses that AAPI legislators are more likely to be sponsors of AAPI-targeted legislation and that AAPI women legislators are more likely to introduce bills targeting AAPI constituents than their male counterparts. In addition, AAPI women legislators as a whole are more likely to sponsor legislation to advance interests of the intersectionally disadvantaged than AAPI men legislators during our study period (February to mid-May 2020).