Morning Sweep

President Obama has appointed a transgender woman, Amanda Simpson, to be a Technical Advisor at the Commerce Department.

Advocates in New Jersey are still hopeful that the marriage equality bill might pass before the state changes Governors on Jan 19.

The New York Times editorial board calls upon the U.S. Government and others to make it clear to Uganda that if its anti-gay legislation becomes law, "it will lose millions of dollars in foreign aid and be shunned globally."