Connect with us

News

Trump names gay nominee as U.S. ambassador to Germany

Grenell is first major openly gay appointment of current White House

Published

8 years ago

on

Ric Grenell, Republican Party, gay news, Washington Blade

Ric Grenell (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

President Trump made one of his last acts before the Labor Day weekend nominating foreign policy expert Ric Grenell as U.S. ambassador to Germany, the first openly gay major appointment of the current administration.

The White House announced Trump had named Grenell to the post, which requires U.S. Senate confirmation, in a statement late Friday along with scores of other nominees.

The nomination was expected. Media reports in July indicated Trump would tap Grenell for the post, but Trump hadn’t formally made the designation until this time.

According to his bio, Grenell founded the international consulting firm Capitol Media Partners in 2010 and served in various roles as a public communications adviser for nearly two decades. Under the George W. Bush administration, Grenell was the longest serving U.S. spokesperson at the United Nations and served four United States Ambassadors.

For a period of less than two weeks, Grenell served during the 2012 presidential election as a foreign policy spokesperson for Republican nominee Mitt Romney, but resigned amid pressure from social conservatives over his sexual orientation. Grenell never had the opportunity to speak publicly in the role.

Grenell, who has described himself as a gay conservative Christian, has a same-sex partner, Matt Lashey. According to The Atlantic, the two have been together 15 years and Lashey himself is a conservative Christian who graduated from Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University.

At times, Grenell has supported LGBT rights, endorsing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2013 and supporting same-sex marriage. Grenell hailed Trump for saying he’s “fine” with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality, although the president’s words seemed to fall short of a full endorsement.

On the other hand, Grenell has expressed skepticism over the Student Non-Discrimination Act and former President Obama’s 2014 executive order against anti-LGBT workplace discrimination among federal contractors.

But Grenell is perhaps best known on Twitter for his combative relationship with reporters, including those from the Washington Blade. Taking a cue from Trump, who has declared war on the media, Grenell often accuses reporters of harboring biases that undermine their reporting.

Grenell is named as U.S. ambassador to Germany at a time of continued cooperation between the United States and Germany, but also tension. Merkel has criticized Trump for his approach to climate change and North Korea. Trump, in turn, has called on Germany, which spends 1.2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, to double its expenditures in this area.

Gregory Angelo, president of Log Cabin Republicans, hailed the news Grenell was confirmed nomination as U.S. envoy to Germany.

“It’s exciting to see Mr. Grenell nominated to such an important post at such an important time,” Angelo said. “As a member of our Los Angeles Chapter, working to ensure his confirmation will be a priority of Log Cabin Republicans in the weeks ahead.”

Grenell earned his bachelor’s degree from Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., and his master’s in public affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Aisha Moodie-Mills, CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute, said although her organization normally favors LGBT appointments, she has strong reservations about Grenell.

“LGBTQ presidential appointees can be critical difference-makers when they hold a broad vision of equality and are empowered to enact it,” Moodie-Mills said. “Unfortunately, past statements by Richard Grenell make clear he is not supportive of the entire LGBTQ community – including LGBTQ Muslims, immigrants and people of color. His praise for President Trump as a ‘historic’ pro-LGBTQ president is completely delegitimized by Trump’s appointment of an almost entirely anti-LGBTQ cabinet, as well as his actions attacking trans students and military members.

Nonetheless, Moodie-Mills said Grenell has a real opportunity to make change upon his confirmation as U.S. ambassador to Germany.

“The LGBTQ community is watching Grenell as he takes his post in Germany,” Moodie-Mills said. As Trump’s first openly LGBTQ appointee, he has an opportunity to influence the administration and play a meaningful role in a country that just passed marriage equality. But his blind loyalty to Trump and his hateful policies give us little hope. Only Grenell can decide whether to stand up for equality, or continue his delusions about Trump’s intentions for our community.”

Grenell wasn’t the only openly gay appointment Trump made on Friday. Trump also nominated James Abbott to membership of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a five-year term expiring July 1, 2020. A member of D.C. Log Cabin, Abbott currently serves as counsel to the Federal Labor Relations Authority

Related Topics:
Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Delaware

Milton Pride Fest to take place Saturday

This year’s theme is ‘Small Town, Big Heart’

Published

21 hours ago

on

June 13, 2025

By

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Milton, Del., will host its Pride Fest this Saturday with the theme “Small Town, Big Heart.” The town’s population of just over 3,000 is in its sixth year hosting Pride. 

The event is hosted by Sussex Pride and Milton Theatre and will take place from 4-8 p.m. in the area surrounding the theater. Admission is pay-what-you-can and proceeds will support the Milton Theatre’s education wing campaign, an initiative dedicated to expanding arts education and creating spaces for the next generation of performers and artists. 

The musical act schedule includes Goldstar at 4 p.m., Magnolia Applebottom and Friends at 5:30 p.m., and Mama’s Blacksheep at 6:45 p.m. There will be vendors, food trucks, and a Kids Fest with an inflatable obstacle course. 

“In our little corner of the world, LOVE leads the way! Milton Pride 2025 is a celebration for EVERYONE — neighbors, families, allies, and friends — because acceptance, kindness, and community belong to us all,” Milton Theatre’s website reads. “Whether you’re here to cheer, learn, or simply feel the joy … you’re welcome exactly as you are. Let’s come together and celebrate Milton, a SMALL TOWN … with a BIG HEART!”

Continue Reading

Congress

Torres: gay Venezuelan asylum seeker is ‘poster child’ for Trump’s ‘abuses against due process’

Congressman spoke with the Blade Thursday

Published

1 day ago

on

June 13, 2025

By

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York told the Washington Blade during an interview Thursday that his party erred in focusing so much attention on demands for the Trump-Vance administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. when the wrongful deportation of Andry Hernández Romero “was much more egregious.”

Hernández is a gay Venezuelan national who was deported to El Salvador in March and imprisoned in the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center, a maximum-security prison known by the Spanish acronym CECOT.

“In the case of Andry, the government admits that it has no evidence of gang membership, but he was deported without due process, without a notification to his attorney, without a court hearing to contest the allegations against him, without a court order authorizing his deportation,” the congressman said.

“He had not even the slightest semblance of due process,” Torres said. “And even though he had a court hearing scheduled for March 17, the Trump administration proceeded to deport him on March 15, in violation of a court order.”

“I think we as a party should have held up Andry as the poster child for the abuses against due process, because his case is much more sympathetic,” Torres said. “There’s no one who thinks that Andry is a gang member.”

“Also,” the congressman added, “he’s not a quote-unquote illegal immigrant. He was a lawful asylum seeker. He sought asylum lawfully under the statutes of the United States, but he was deported unlawfully at the hands of the Trump administration.”

Torres was among the 49 members of Congress who joined with Democratic U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California in writing to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday demanding information about Romero, including proof of life.

The lawmakers urged the State Department to facilitate his access to legal counsel and take steps to return him, expressing fear for his safety — concerns that Torres reiterated on Thursday.

“Jails and prisons can be dangerous places for gay men, and that is especially true of a place like CECOT,” the congressman said. “He fled Latin America to escape violent homophobia. There are a few places on earth that have as much institutionalized homophobia as jails and prisons, and so I do fear for his safety.”

“I released a video telling the story of Andry,” Torres noted, adding, “I feel like we have to do more to raise awareness and the video is only the beginning … And you know, the fact that Abrego Garcia is returning to the United States shows that the administration has the ability to bring back the migrants who were unlawfully deported.”

Torres spoke with the Blade just after Padilla was forcibly removed from a federal building in Los Angeles after attempting to question U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference on immigration Thursday.

Footage of the senator being pushed out of the room, onto the floor, and handcuffed by officers wearing FBI identifying vests drew outrage from top Democrats in California and beyond.

“It’s the latest reminder that Donald Trump and his administration have no respect for anything or anyone but himself,” Torres told the Blade. “And every bit as outrageous as Donald Trump himself has been the enabling on the part of the congressional Republicans who are aiding and abetting his authoritarian abuses.”

“We have to be vigilant in resisting Donald Trump,” the congressman said. “We have to resist him on the streets through grassroots mobilization. We have to resist him in the courtrooms through litigation. We have to resist him in the halls of Congress through legislation.”

Torres added that “we have to win back the majority in 2026” and “if Republicans have no interest in holding Donald Trump accountable, then those Republicans should be fired from public office” because “we need a Congress that is able and willing to hold Donald Trump accountable, to stand up to his authoritarian assault on our democracy.”

Resisting is “a matter of free speech,” he said, noting that the president’s aim is to “create a reign of terror that intimidates people into silence,” but “we cannot remain silent. We have to unapologetically and courageously exercise our right to free speech, our right to assemble peacefully, and our right to resist an authoritarian president like Donald Trump.”

Continue Reading

District of Columbia

Drive with Pride in D.C.

A new Pride-themed license plate is now available in the District, with proceeds directly benefiting local LGBTQ organizations.

Published

1 day ago

on

June 13, 2025

By

A sample of the license plate with the "Progressive" Pride flag. (Screenshot from the DCDMV website)

Just in time for Pride month, the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has partnered with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to create a special “Pride Lives Here” license plate.

The plate, which was initially unveiled in February, has a one-time $25 application fee and a $20 annual display fee. Both fees will go directly to the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Affairs Fund.

The MOLGBTQA Fund provides $1,000,000 annually to 25,000 residents through its grant program, funding a slew of LGBTQ organizations in the DMV area — including Capital Pride Alliance, Whitman-Walker, the D.C. Center for the LGBTQ Community, and the Washington Blade Foundation.

The license plate features an inclusive rainbow flag wrapping around the license numbers, with silver stars in the background — a tribute to both D.C.’s robust queer community and the resilience the LGBTQ community has shown.

The “Pride Lives Here” plate is one of only 13 specialty plates offered in the District, and the only one whose fees go directly to the LGBTQ community.

To apply for a Pride plate, visit the DC DMV’s website at https://dmv.dc.gov/

Continue Reading

Popular