The First Openly Gay White House Press Secretary
I know a lot of people get tired of “firsts”–first black this, first Asian‐American that. But today’s papers report that Karine Jean‐Pierre will be the first black person and first openly gay or lesbian person to be the White House press secretary, and that’s worthy of notice. (Also surely the first Haitian‐born press secretary and quite possibly the first native French speaker.)
For roughly the first two centuries of American independence, no black or gay person and no woman could aspire to such a senior position. In 1993 Dee Dee Myers became the first woman to hold the press secretary job. It’s a mark of progress that such positions are increasingly open to every American. In The Constitution of Liberty, Hayek cited the 19th‐century liberal phrase, “la carriere ouverte aux talents,” or “the career open to the talents,” that every person should be able to rise on the basis of their own talent and hard work rather than by inherited status.
This is not an argument for affirmative action, quotas, or even diversity as a goal in itself. I assume that the Biden administration selected Ms. Jean‐Pierre to represent them to the media and the country because she was the best available person for the job. And it is to the administration’s credit, and to the credit of the country, that she was not rejected on the grounds of her gender, race, or sexual orientation. To be sure, I expect I’ll have ample reason to criticize the administration’s policies and her defenses of them over the coming months, but that’s a normal part of politics and policy in a democracy. And note that we say “first openly gay” because it’s quite possible there’s been a gay press secretary in the past, just not one who was open about being gay.
It’s a sign of progress that even young LGBT people may not find the appointment of a lesbian press secretary newsworthy. A few years ago I had an exchange on Facebook last year with a young, married gay man who said, Who cares about somebody being the first openly gay person in the Olympics or whatever? Why not just admire his accomplishment and ignore his irrelevant sexual orientation? And I responded:
It’s news because for decades — or centuries — or more — it was pretty much impossible to be openly gay. And it’s still very rare for athletes. So that makes it news. And I hate to sound like the crotchety old gay guy yelling “you kids don’t appreciate!” But here I am. You and your husband can be happily, apolitically out because a few gay people came out when it was much more dangerous. Some of them lost their families, their homes, their jobs, their liberty, even their lives. So appreciate! And yeah, it may be that we’re past that time, and it shouldn’t be news any more. But as noted, it’s still rare among athletes. And there are still kids out there wondering if they’re the only one, if there’s something wrong with them. So thanks, Adam Rippon!
So that process of opening all the careers to the talents is still ongoing. First popularly elected black U.S. senator, 1967. First black woman in the Senate, 1993. First openly gay senator, 2013. First openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company, 2014. First openly gay Cabinet member, 2021. First woman president, TBD.
By the way, the New York Post has raised questions of a conflict of interest because Jean‐Pierre’s partner is a CNN reporter. Well, welcome to the big leagues, LGBT people. LGBT relationships are as real as the marriages and domestic partnerships of heterosexual officials, and they can legitimately be subjected to the same scrutiny.
Progress happens. As I have written before, we have extended the promises of the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — to people to whom they were long denied. Classical liberals and libertarians have pressed for this sort of moral progress for more than two centuries. So raise a glass this evening to this small new bit of evidence that our society has become more open, more accepting, and more able to draw on the talents of every person.