Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be nominated as ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House said in a statement Wednesday.
Brownback validated the statement on social media, tweeting, "Religious Freedom is the first freedom. The choice of what you do with your own soul. I am honored to serve such an important cause. –SDB."
The Hill said the Republican governor would be the fifth person to run the office of international religious freedom and the second person to fill the post who had not been a member of the clergy.
In announcing the post, the White House explained that Brownback has previously "worked actively on the issue of religious freedom in multiple countries and was a key sponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."
News of Brownback's intended nomination by President Donald Trump has garnered a mixed reaction from the public.
Conservatives applauded the decision, as The Hill reported, with Chuck Donovan, president of Charlotte Lozier Institute, the education arm of the anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List, stating Brownback was "an ideal choice for this important post as a champion of religious freedom for all — fair-minded, compassionate, faith-filled and eloquent."
However, others criticised Trump’s move to nominate Brownback as ambassador for international religious freedom.
The New York Times reported that Brownback’s spokeswoman, Melika Willoughby, had declared that he remained Kansas’ governor for the time being.
No further comment was provided.
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