Donald Trump considering woman, openly gay man for leadership posts

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Washington: President-elect Donald Trump is considering a woman and an openly gay man to fill major positions in his administration, history-making moves that would inject diversity into a Trump team.

The incoming president is considering Richard Grenell as United States ambassador to the United Nations. If picked and ultimately confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first openly gay person to fill a Cabinet-level foreign policy post.

Grenell previously served as US spokesman at the U.N. under former President George W Bush's administration.

At the same time, Trump is weighing whether to select the first woman to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

On his short list of prospective chairs: Michigan GOP chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, the former sister-in-law of Trump critic and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"I'll be interested in whatever Mr. Trump wants," McDaniel told The Associated Press today, adding that she was planning to seek the Michigan GOP chairmanship again.

Appointing a woman to the top tier of his team and the first female GOP chief would appear to be an effort to begin to mend ties with women, who he antagonised frequently during the campaign.

The appointment of Grenell could begin to ease concerns by the gay community about Vice President-elect Mike Pence's positions on same-sex marriage during his time as Indiana governor.

The personnel moves under consideration were confirmed by people with direct knowledge of Trump's thinking who were not authorised to publicly disclose private discussions. They stressed that the decisions are not final.