--START--VIDEO - Shake-Up at Democratic National Committee, Longtime Officials Ousted - NBC News
DNC Chair Tom Perez speaks in Miami on April 19. Joe Raedle / Getty Images file
"This slate doubles millennial and Native American at-large representation, provides unprecedented representation for our allies in the labor community, and increases the presence of Puerto Rican at-large members at a time when the Trump administration refuses to take responsibility for the millions of Americans who are still suffering through a major humanitarian crisis."
The DNC has been under intense scrutiny from party activists since the 2016 presidential primary between Clinton and Sanders, and some had feared this week's appointments could reignite those tensions. Others worried about replacing people with years of institutional memory with inexperienced newcomers in the effort to bring in new blood.
"Keith suggested names for DNC at-large membership and committees. Some were selected and some were not. In the end, the selections are the perogative of the chair," Ellison spokesperson Karthik Ganapathy said in a terse statement.
Siperstein, the DNC's
first transgender member, said, "I can’t speak for Tom, but you talk about diversity — I’m extremely diverse: Jewish, veteran, transgender, lesbian, grandparent, small-business owner."Despite the shake-up, Zogby, still the co-chair of the party’s Unity and Reform Commission, said: "This is a family. We’ve always operated that way."