The Purge Artist

On Monday ProPublica published a disturbing article (link here) about how the Trump administration has hired a former official from the Bush II administration, an anti-LGBT zealot named James Renne who was responsible for purging LGBT employees when he was an appointee at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.

During George W. Bush's time in office, although Renne was brought into the Office of Special Counsel to assist in the prosecution of those involved in wrongdoing, he instead, with the approval of another appointee, set up an office in Detroit specifically to "ship out" LGBT government employees from the Washington, D.C. area. Those who refused this mandatory reassignment were fired.

The matter ultimately led to congressional investigations and criminal prosecutions.

One can speculate that Renne was hired primarily because he had worked as a volunteer on Trump's campaign, a priority criteria for many of Trump's hires, where loyalty is valued over experience or competence. Renne first worked for Trump in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and then was given a job at the Department of Agriculture, a government agency that has nothing to do with national intelligence.

Considering the number of anti-LGBT fanatics in the highest level of Trump's White House, it's no surprise that they're attracting like minds to join them. The big question now remains: given that Renne's dark past has been exposed, will Trump keep him on the staff?