Does President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department – Political Punch?
President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. In a statement, Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgenders Equality’s board of directors, said that “as one of the first transgenders presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others.” While Simpson is clearly one of the first transgenders presidential appointees, Democratic officials say they’re unsure if she is the very first one. The White House had no comment on her appointment. A 2004 YWCA “Woman on the Move,” Simpson recently served as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.
