Breaking News: Obama to Announce First LGBT Appointment

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Nancy Sutley - the Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles and a prominent lesbian politician - to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The Washington Post and Politico have the story. This marks the first prominent appointment of an openly gay person to Obama's administration, with an expected formal announcement coming within a few days.

Sutley has been involved in environmental matters during the transition. During the Democratic primary, Sutley worked for Hillary Clinton's LGBT outreach in California - a state in which Sen. Clinton defeated Obama on Super Tuesday.

I recently wrote about the possible appointment of labor activist Mary Beth Maxwell, who is also gay, to Secretary of Labor. This would be the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet. No word on this yet, although the woman who was considered by many to be the front runner - Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kansas) - removed herself from consideration late last week.