President Barack Obama on Tuesday
appointed Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz as the
chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
“I am honored that through this
expanded role I will be able to work with the president to create
jobs, improve our economy, strengthen our children's education, and
increase opportunity for all Americans,” Wasserman Schultz said in
a statement on Wednesday.
Wasserman Schultz, 44, will succeed Tim
Kaine, who announced on Tuesday a run for the Senate from Virginia.
First elected to Congress in 2004, she
is considered a rising star in the Democratic party. But several
Democrats have questioned whether she's up to the task of running a
House reelection campaign and a national party.
Wasserman Schultz's record on gay
rights is perfect, says the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's
largest gay rights advocate.
According to the group's Congressional
Scorecard, she
ranks 100 percent. That is, she backs repeal of “Don't Ask,
Don't Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which forbids
federal recognition of the marriages of gay and lesbian couples, and
supports passage of Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank's
Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would ban workplace
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
(transgender protections).
She is a founding member of the
Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.