Obama Appoints Transgendered Man/Woman to Post

In an ongoing effort to "pay back" the gay community for helping elect him, President Obama has selected Amanda Simpson as a senior technical adviser to the Department of Commerce, making her the first transgender appointment of his administration.

"I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me," Simpson said in a news release posted at the National Center for Transgender Equality's Web site. "And at the same time, as one of the first transgender 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."

Simpson has worked for over 30 years in the defense and aerospace industries, most notably at Raytheon, the news release said. She was the first transgender person to win a primary election when she became the Democratic nominee running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in Tucson. She later lost the election. In 2002, she had doctors transform her appearance from male to female, undergoing gender reassignment surgery while at Raytheon. See Chick's DOOM TOWN.