Fred Hochberg to
Be Named Head of Export-Import Bank

Fred Hochberg, the gay man who headed the Small Business Administration under President Bill Clinton, will be named by incoming President Barack Obama as the director of the Export-Import Bank, ABC News reports. Hochberg, a longtime figure in both Democratic and gay politics, had been buzzed about as a possible replacement for Bill Richardson at the Commerce Department, but his appointment to the bank means that Obama's cabinet will remain without a single gay member.

Hochberg was deputy administrator and then acting administrator of the SBA. More recently he was the dean of the Milano School of Management at the New School in New York City.

He supported Hillary Clinton in last year's Democratic primary.

The Export-Import Bank, according to ABC News, is the federal government's export credit arm and finances sales of goods exported from the U.S. Hochberg will be the bank's first openly gay director.

The Human Rights Campaign, where Hochberg has been on the board and is currently a member of the group's public policy committee, hailed the expected appointment.

"Fred is one of the most highly qualified and experienced public servants in our community, and the fact that President-elect Obama has tapped him for such an important economic position speaks well for the LGBT community," HRC president Joe Solmonese said in a statement. (Advocate.com)