 In the Reagan administration, when she was known informally as Kathy Troia, she started working as speechwriter for U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger in March 1982.Specifically, she worked on his "Six Tests for the Use of U.S. Military Power" speech, sometimes considered a forerunner of the Powell Doctrine.Speechwriting was a significant activity in the Reagan administration because it forced a decision to be reached among battling factions, sometimes with the president intervening to settle a policy matter.