Richard Grenell, who became the first openly gay man to serve in the president’s cabinet after being appointed acting director of national intelligence (DNI) last year, congratulated Pete Buttigieg on becoming the second after being promoted by the Senate has been confirmed by the Senate as head of the Transport Division. Tuesday.
“Congratulations to @PeteButtigieg on becoming the second openly gay member of a presidential cabinet. Welcome to the club! “He tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Congratulations to @PeteButtigieg that he became the second openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
Welcome to the club! pic.twitter.com/BbKK6iTBW1
– Richard Grenell
Richard Grenell Edward Snowden, media and espionage law Kentucky governor calls vandalism to McConnell’s home ‘unacceptable’ Pelosi’s, McConnell’s homes vandalized because K-stimulus bill no longer passes (@RichardGrenell) 2 February 2021
The Senate voted earlier Tuesday to confirm Buttigieg to vote for the department 86-13. Although he is only the second openly gay person to serve as a member of the presidential cabinet in the history of the country, he is the first to be confirmed in the cabinet by the Senate.
Grenell became the first openly gay cabinet member after former President Trump named him DNI in February 2020.
The former ambassador to Germany also criticized newspapers for their coverage of Buttigieg’s confirmation, which often played down the historical aspects of the vote in the Senate.
“False news,” Grenell said in a response to ABC News.
False news. https://t.co/CHWyF4yxPI
– Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) 2 February 2021
Grenell, a staunch supporter of the Republican president, previously served as U.S. ambassador to Germany and retained the position after being nominated to lead the intelligence community. For the post of ambassador, Grenell was confirmed by the Senate in April 2018.
At the time, the appointment raised concerns among Democrats and career officials who expressed doubts about his qualifications for the position and pointed to comments from the past about wanting to empower conservative leaders “across Europe”.
“There are a lot of conservatives in Europe who have contacted me to say that they feel there is a boom,” Grenell said in an interview with Breitbart in 2018.
Former director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, was sworn in as Grenell’s successor at the end of May. Days later, Grenell also stepped down from his role as ambassador.
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as President Biden’s DNI late last month. She was the first of his cabinet choices to be confirmed by the upper chamber.