Brownback ambassadorship approved by committee, moves to full Senate

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s nomination as ambassador for international religious freedom has moved to the Senate for approval.

His nomination first had to go through the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where it scraped by on a 11-10 vote.

Brownback tweeted Thursday morning about the committee’s vote.

“I appreciate the work and support of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and thank them for voting on my nomination favorably,” he tweeted.

The committee passed Brownback’s nomination along party lines, with Republicans voting for it and Democrats opposing it.

A spokeswoman for the committee said Brownback’s nomination was separated from a block vote regarding other appointments.

Of 24 nominees approved by the committee Thursday, Brownback was one of only two not approved by unanimous voice vote. The other party-line vote was to approve Richard Grenell as ambassador to Germany. If confirmed, he will be the first openly LGBT ambassador for President Donald Trump, according to the Associated Press.

The committee held a confirmation hearing for Brownback earlier this month. In that hearing, Brownback emphasized that he would pursue freedom for religious minorities around the world.

He drew criticism from LGBT groups after Sen. Tim Kaine, the former Democratic vice presidential nominee, grilled Brownback over his 2015 repeal of an executive order that prohibited discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual and transgender state employees that was put in place under former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Brownback, who left the order in place for his first term before repealing early in his second term, said the executive order addressed issues that should be decided by the Legislature.

Kaine voted against Brownback’s nomination, as did all other Democrats on the committee.

“I voted against the nomination of Gov. Brownback to be the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom because during his hearing he refused to give me a straightforward answer on protecting LGBTQ people who are still being criminalized, imprisoned and executed abroad, under cover of religious justification,” Kaine said in an emailed statement. “For this job, America must have someone who believes every person – no matter who they are or whom they love – is entitled to the same protections. I don’t believe Governor Brownback would be able to forcefully carry this message.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2017 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Brownback ambassadorship approved by committee, moves to full Senate."