President Trump has hired for his administration a number of people who are spectacularly unqualified for their jobs: Ben Carson, who has no experience in housing policy, for Housing and Urban Development secretary; Betsy DeVos, who has no experience in education, as Secretary of Education; his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to handle creating Israeli-Palestinian peace, reinventing the government, reforming opioid-addiction policy and managing relations with China and Mexico, when he —
Observers have seen where that is going.
But to those who believed that Trump could not hire anyone with a greater mismatch of experience and responsibility, he has metaphorically said, “Hold my beer.” This week, the president appointed Lynne Patton, the Trump family’s event planner, to oversee federal housing in New York and New Jersey. Aside from arranging for outdoor tents to shield partygoers from the elements, she has no experience in housing.
Patton has been appointed to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Region II, which covers the two states. She will direct how and where billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent.
On her LinkedIn page, Patton lists her experience with the Trump family as: “Responsible for organizing, executing and assisting with upscale events and celebrity golf tournaments. Handle celebrity talent acquisition for various marketing projects, philanthropic events and golf tournaments.”
She also helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, which is currently under investigation by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman for redirecting donations for a cancer charity to Trump family businesses.
The “New York Post” reports that on the LinkedIn page, Patton’s education is curiously listed and falsified: She claims to have a juris doctorate degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law in Connecticut, but (N/A) is written next to the listing. On Thursday, the university registrar told the paper that Patton attended for two semesters but didn’t graduate. Patton also claimed to have attended Yale University, but HUD officials could not explain further.
