President-elect Donald Trump’s right-hand Black woman, Omarosa Manigault, is officially joining his White House team.
The former contestant on “The Apprentice” will become part of the Republican’s staff as his public liaison, a transition official told ABC News. The administrator added the engagement role was not her first pick, however. Manigault wished to become an ambassador to Haiti based on her past community and missionary work in the Caribbean island.
Manigault’s appointment comes after her position on Trump’s transition team was confirmed in December. While writing an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, the 42-year-old explained how she aided national engagement.
“He has given me a personal directive that, with the 4,000 jobs we need to fill,” Manigault wrote, “he wants his administration to be the most diverse in history.”
The role continued Manigault’s work with Trump on the campaign trail, which included her position as director of African-American outreach and vice president of the National Diversity Coalition for Trump.
Unlike the soon-to-be Commander in Chief, Manigault has experience in government. She served in the White House during the Bill Clinton administration in 2000, but People magazine reported it was not smooth sailing. Within two years, a source told the publication, Manigault was fired from several positions.
The reality TV personality has said she conducted logistics and event planning for then-Vice President Al Gore, but an anonymous source denied that. “Her exact title was scheduling correspondent,” the ex-staff member revealed to the celebrity magazine. “Her job was to respond to invitations.”
Manigault also lost a White House personnel office job and ended up at the Commerce Department. She was dropped from her first role in that arena “because she couldn’t get along with people,” a source told the publication. Then, former Under Secretary for Technology Cheryl Shavers said Manigault “was so disruptive” that the department finally tossed her out after a few weeks.