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Report: Trump wants his son’s wedding planner to oversee federal housing programs

She also helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, now facing a state probe.

Lynne Patton at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Lynne Patton at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Alex Wong/Getty
Dylan Scott
Dylan Scott covers health for Vox, guiding readers through the emerging opportunities and challenges in improving our health. He has reported on health policy for more than 10 years, writing for Governing magazine, Talking Points Memo, and STAT before joining Vox in 2017.

Donald Trump always said he would hire the best people, but as more and more appointments to his administration come through, it’s become increasingly clear “best” often means “personal ties to Trump’s family” rather than relevant qualifications.

Take, for instance, the fact that Trump has tapped a family event planner who coordinated his son Eric’s wedding to a key post overseeing federal housing programs, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

Lynne Patton was nominated to head the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s work in New York and New Jersey, according to the New York tabloid:

She’s arranged tournaments at Trump golf courses, served as the liaison to the Trump family during his presidential campaign, and even arranged Eric Trump’s wedding.

Now President Trump has appointed longtime loyalist Lynne Patton — who has zero housing experience and claims a law degree the school says she never earned — to run the office that oversees federal housing programs in New York.

Patton would be responsible for overseeing billions federal dollars, according to the Daily News. She started working for the Trump family in 2009 as a family event planner.

She has also helped run the Eric Trump Foundation, which is now facing an inquiry from the state of New York after a Forbes report alleged that the charity had paid Trump-owned golf courses for hosting events.

She does not appear to have any relevant experience that would lead you to believe she’d be a top candidate for running a federal housing program.

The Daily News also cast doubt on Patton’s education credentials. Her LinkedIn page claims a degree from the Quinnipiac University School of Law, the newspaper reported, but a school official told the Daily News that she attended but did not graduate.

Patton spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer and sought to defend Trump against allegations of racism.

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