Fran Townsend, former Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush, told Politico that the Trump administration has talked to her about the possibility of replacing fired James Comey as FBI director.
Speaking in this week's episode of the "Women Rule" podcast, Townsend talked about the significance of a woman, who has never led the FBI, being seriously considered for the post.
"The fact that women are in that mix says a lot about how far we've come. That hasn't been true before," Townsend said.
"Regardless of whatever decision is made, we have begun to shatter a glass ceiling about what is the population of people who are qualified and competitive to hold such a position."
Most pundits consider former Sen. Joe Lieberman as the frontrunner for the position.
When asked whether should would take the job if offered, Townsend said: "You know what? I learned in the White House I don't do hypotheticals, but I will say I was quite honored and quite flattered to be approached."
However, she did not sound as if she misses being in the middle of the action in Washington, saying that even though "serving was an absolute privilege," her time in the administration was like "hitting yourself in the head with a hammer — you don't know how much it hurts until you stop."
Townsend emphasized that she believes a woman can often bring intangibles to a job that a man does not.
"Women's willingness to be collaborative — to share authority, to share ideas, and then to share credit for the outcome, it's not the same sort of competitiveness that often times I've seen among male colleagues," she said.
She also said that when she was Homeland Security adviser, Bush "understood quite well how to use the fact, in foreign policy, that I was a woman to his advantage."
Townsend also discussed working with former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who was appointed special prosecutor investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
She praised his very detail-oriented focus and insisted he would not stand for any leaks during his probe.
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