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Lynne Patton has worked within the Trump administration for almost a decade and is no stranger to Quinnipiac.

Patton has been in the spotlight before but for some controversial reasons. Now, she’s being targeted as a “prop” by Democrats.

Patton’s LinkedIn account says she attended Quinnipiac School of Law from 1997 to 1998.

Q30 News reached out to Quinnipiac’s Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, John Arcangelo. Arcangelo said that Patton did not complete her Juris Doctorate degree (JD) while she was a student at Quinnipiac and only attended the college for two semesters before dropping out.

Patton’s name is in the press following controversial comments about racism made at the trial of Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, in front of the House Oversight Committee. Patton was invited to attend the hearing by Congressman Mark Meadows. 

Meadows said, “I asked Lynne to come today in her personal capacity to actually shed some light.”

Rashida Tlaib, who is a Democrat Representative of Michigan, said during the hearing that Patton was being used as a political “prop.”

“Just because someone has a person of color, a black person working for them, does not mean they’re not racist,” Tlaib said during the hearing.

After Tlaib made this remark she apologized to Congressman Meadows for implying that he was racist. Tlaib has not apologized to Patton.

Patton told PBS on Wednesday that her appearance at the hearing had nothing to do with her race. “Today was not about the color of my skin. Today was about two people who know the president equally and who disagree about the way he is being characterized,” she said.

On Wednesday, Patton replied to Tlaib’s remarks with a Facebook post claiming she was a target of race not by Congressman Meadows, but by Tlaib.

The New York Times reported that the the New Haven native is open about her previous struggles with drugs.

Patton made news in June 2017 when President Trump appointed her as Head of Department of Housing and Urban Developments (HUD) region covering New York and New Jersey. She had no prior housing experience before taking the job. In her role she’s responsible for the oversight of billions of taxpayers dollars.

Patton began working with the Trump family in 2009, when she was vice president of the Eric Trump Foundation & senior aide to the Trump family. Forbes revealed that during her time as vice president, reports surfaced that the charity money was being given to the Trump empire.

At the time of the 2016 presidential election, Patton worked as a senior advisor and family liaison for Trump’s campaign.