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US President Obama has appointed Amanda Simpson, a woman who used to be a man, to a Commerce Department security post, which would make her the highest-level transgender person chosen by a president.

Ms Simpson, who is single and tall with shoulder-length blond hair, is an expert on technology development at defense contractor Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.

She earned degrees in physics, engineering and business and is a certified flight instructor.

She also used to be Mitchell Simpson, a 5-foot-10, 150-pound test pilot who flew the T-39 and A-3 Sky Warrior in those planes' development stages for Hughes Aircraft.

She was born in Chicago as the oldest of four boys.

Ms Simpson, who starts work in DC today, will be a senior technical adviser in the Bureau of Industry and Security, where she will evaluate "dual-use" technology sold abroad to make sure it isn't used by our enemies for military purposes.

Contacted by The Post, Ms Simpson said her appointment was an important milestone because of the "public stigma" against transgender people.

"If my appointment, and the visibility of working in the federal government, helps change a few people's minds out there and helps people secure a few jobs that they may not have been previously able to get, then I'm thrilled," she said.

Ms Simpson declined to elaborate on the medical procedures she undertook to become a woman but explained, "I am much more comfortable who I am today than what I was before. I struggled with this my whole life."

According to a profile in the Arizona Daily Star from 2002, Simpson spent $70,000 for six surgeries around that time to help her look more female, having her Adam's apple removed, breasts added, and genital surgery.

"If you look at the job she's taking and at her resume, this is not a quota appointee," said Mara Keisling, of the National Center for Transgender Equality.

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Antigay Group Disses Trans Appointment

Peter LaBarbera of the antigay group Americans for Truth on Monday criticized President Obama’s appointment of Amanda Simpson, a transgender woman, to the Commerce Department.

By Advocate.com Editors

Peter LaBarbera of the antigay group Americans for Truth on Monday criticized President Obama’s appointment of Amanda Simpson, a transgender woman, to the Commerce Department. Citing a press release from the National Center for Transgender Equality, in which Simpson said she hoped she would “soon be one of hundreds [of transgender presidential appointees,” LaBarbera asked, “Is there going to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration? How far does this politics of gay and transgender activism go? Clearly this is an administration that is pandering to the gay lobby.” His comments were made on Focus on the Family’s Citizenlink.com. “We should consider what transgender activism is about,” he continued,” which is essentially recognizing civil rights based on gender confusion.”

Matt Barber, associate dean of the conservative and antigay Liberty University, seconded LaBarbera, saying that Simpson's appointment “boggles the mind…. This isn’t like appointing an African-American in order to provide diversity and right some kind of discriminatory wrong. This is about political correctness.”

Read more about Simpson's appointment here. source