During a recent news conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre boasted about the Biden administration’s diversity. However, one columnist argued that this fact hides a dirty secret.
Washington Examiner contributor Kaylee McGhee White suggested in a piece published on Friday that despite their superficial differences, administration figures share a common feature: incompetence.
“Record seven assistants to the president are openly LGBTQ+”
White began by recalling the way Jean-Pierre highlighted how diverse President Joe Biden’s cabinet is when speaking with reporters on Thursday.
“The Cabinet is majority people of color for the first time in history,” Jean-Pierre asserted. “The Cabinet is majority female for the first time in history. A majority of White House senior staff identify as female.”
“Forty percent of White House senior staff identify as part of the racially diverse communities, and a record seven assistants to the president are openly LGBTQ+,” she stressed.
Jean-Pierre: “The Cabinet is majority people of color for the first time in history. The Cabinet is majority female for the first time in history. A majority of White House senior staff identify is female and a record 7 assistants to the president are LGBTQ+.” pic.twitter.com/BLlEfrwO3E
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 23, 2023
Buttigieg made headlines for being first gay secretary
According to White, the reason why Jean-Pierre has to keep the media’s focus on diversity “is because there is no other way to defend Biden’s Cabinet picks.”
As an example, she cited “Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg ’s abysmal response to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.”
While Buttigieg made headlines in 2021 when he became the first openly gay man to join a presidential cabinet, White stressed how it took the secretary “10 days to even acknowledge the derailment.”
What’s more, she complained that “every time he’s been asked about it since he’s made it clear that he has no idea what he’s talking about.”
NTSB head refutes Buttigieg’s claims
Although Buttigieg blamed the disaster on a Trump-era decision to loosen rules on electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes for trains, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called that claim “misinformation.”
Homendy explained in a series of tweets how even if it had been retained, the rule in question would not have applied to the train that derailed in East Palestine.
The ECP braking rule would’ve applied ONLY to HIGH HAZARD FLAMMABLE TRAINS. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a MIXED FREIGHT TRAIN containing only 3 placarded Class 3 flammable liquids cars. pic.twitter.com/ReAFDSdsn7
— Jennifer Homendy (@JenniferHomendy) February 17, 2023
“No wonder, then, that the White House feels the need to play up its contributions to diversity,” White wrote as she drew to a close. “Biden’s officials may be so ineffective and incompetent that they’re actively damaging his presidency, but damn it all! at least their skin colors and sexual orientations fit the bill.”