Women In Trump Administration: White House Denying Anne Patterson From Defense Department?

A new report published Thursday indicated that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has received some pushback from the White House over his pick to be his second-in-command at the Pentagon, former ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson, Politico reported. President Trump’s administration had issues with Patterson’s “close” relationship with former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. She attempted to “discourage” protests against Morsi, who was eventually ousted by Egypt’s military in June 2013.

But the story also shed more light on one major, glaring omission from the Trump administration: a certifiable lack of women in power.

With the exceptions of new Department of Transportation head Elaine Chao and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Trump has largely failed to name any women to his Cabinet and only two hold significant positions, but those fall outside the presidential succession plan, The New York Times reported.

To date, only Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and first wife of World Wrestling Entertainment Linda McMahon – who was tapped to lead the Small Business Administration – can be found below Trump’s primary positions of power.

The Times report also showed, that not since President Ronald Reagan, had any administration first selected 17 white men to head up the Cabinet.

Only Haley, Chao and recently confirmed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson were non-white picks. Chao’s pick received criticism both for her nomination and confirmation because she’s married to Senate Majority Leader and high-standing Republican Mitch McConnell.

Even the nomination DeVos, who has been both a philanthropist and heavy donor to the GOP, has been chastised as more of a political rather than practical pick. Because of her lack of government experience, as well as her time spent working against public schools, it’s believed Trump chose DeVos for her political connections and ability to swing big dollars into the GOP’s coffers. That may have affected her very slim confirmation victory on Feb. 7, which required Vice President Mike Pence to step in and snap a tie in the Senate.

Unlike DeVos, Patterson has had vast experience in government, though she has never held a position in the DoD, according to Politico. She has, however, played a significant diplomatic role, serving as the assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under President Barack Obama up until February when she retired, and was also ambassador to Colombia and Pakistan.