Opposing Factions Join to Push Confirmation of a Gay Trump Appointee

For months, scores of President Donald Trump’s nominees for posts from ambassadorships to deputies at Cabinet-level agencies have been stalled, awaiting confirmation hearings.

But few drives for a confirmation vote have turned into a cause — supported by groups often on opposite sides of the political spectrum — like Richard Grenell’s.

Grenell, a Republican who worked with the incoming national security adviser, John R. Bolton, at the United Nations, was nominated by Trump last year for the ambassadorship to Germany, becoming the president’s most prominent openly gay appointee.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced his nomination at the end of October, and he appears to have enough support to clear the full Senate. But like other nominees, he is trapped in arcane parliamentary tactics.

Democrats in the Senate have expressed concern about Grenell’s sometimes caustic tweets. But his nomination has attracted support from an unlikely coalition of conservative commentators and gay rights activists.

Stuart Milk, who co-founded the Harvey Milk Foundation in honor of his uncle, a prominent gay civil rights pioneer in California who was gunned down decades ago, said he believed that Grenell’s confirmation would “send an important message” about the gay community’s having a place in the Trump administration.

“I understand those who are frustrated with the Trump administration and the actions the Trump administration has taken” who have also opposed Grenell, Milk said. “And I think that’s misguided.”

“It would be a huge void” if the nomination did not proceed, he said.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a gay conservative group, have also criticized the Senate’s delay.

Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, has for weeks promoted Grenell’s nomination and questioned why it has not moved forward.

“Rick Grenell not getting confirmed is an embarrassment,” Hewitt told Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on a broadcast this month.

“Would you go to the leader and get that scheduled?” Hewitt said. “I just can’t get over this.”

Grenell, who quietly helped with Trump’s transition process, was the longest-serving U.S. spokesman at the United Nations, working with four U.S. ambassadors there and especially closely with Bolton, a staunch foreign policy conservative. Grenell declined to comment for this article, but he has told allies that he would not take a job at the National Security Council under Bolton and that he is committed to the ambassadorship.

Senate officials from both parties said a senator appeared to have placed a hold on his nomination, which means moving forward with a vote would require 30 hours of debate, burning up most of a business week. Senate rules do not require the name of the legislator requesting the hold to be made public.

Last week, when the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, called for Grenell to move ahead by unanimous consent, which requires a voice vote, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., declined to advance the nomination.

Democrats cite concerns about Grenell’s vocal criticism of the news media on Twitter as a concern. In particular, he excoriated as biased journalists who did not report on the revelations in the hacked emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign chairman, John D. Podesta, when they were made public by the website WikiLeaks.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said the Senate needed to change the rules to speed up the process.

“Today, Democrats deliberately delay in ways that limit us to a couple of nominations in a typical week,” Barrasso said on the Senate floor last week.

Republicans have consistently faulted Democrats for the lack of movement on nominees. So has the White House, where officials have repeatedly criticized Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader.

But privately, some White House advisers say McConnell could do more — like keep lawmakers in Washington — to force nominations through even with the existing rules.

Other opponents have dismissed Grenell as an avatar for gay rights.

Hilary Rosen, a Democratic strategist with the firm SKDKnickerbocker and a vocal supporter of gay rights, said in an email, “I don’t think having Richard at the table helps the movement one bit.”

For instance, she added, last week “President Trump announced his plan to discriminate against trans troops fighting their country and Grenell, still waiting for his seat at a homophobic table, stayed silent.”