The Senate voted 56-42 on Thursday to confirm Richard Grenell as ambassador to Germany, making him one of President Donald Trump's most prominent openly gay appointees.
Grenell's nomination was stalled for months — Trump nominated him in September — and the White House repeatedly cited it as an example of Democratic obstruction in the confirmation of the president's nominees.
He was among as many as 129 Trump nominees who were awaiting Senate confirmation hearings as of late last month, according to news reports.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Thursday that Grenell's confirmation "was delayed far too long for such an important position and during such troubling times.
"The extreme partisanship displayed toward Mr. Grenell, a highly qualified nominee from President Trump, will be remembered."
The Senate earlier Thursday confirmed CIA Director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state, on a 57-42 vote that was one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history.
The German ambassadorship had been vacant since January 2017, when Trump dismissed all such appointees by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Grenell, 51, a Republican and Trump political ally, is the longest serving U.S. spokesman at the United Nations, first appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001.
He served through 2008 and worked with Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton when he was U.N. ambassador.
Grenell, who holds a master's in public administration from Harvard University, also briefly served as national security spokesman for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in his 2012 presidential campaign.
According to news reports, President Trump considered Grenell for U.S. ambassador to NATO, but the post ultimately went to former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
He also considered Grenell for the U.N. ambassadorship, but South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley received that nod.
Grenell's confirmation makes him the Trump White House's most prominent openly gay Trump appointees, HuffPost reports.
His supporters included Stuart Milk, co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation and nephew of the late gay-rights activist.
Milk told The New York Times in March that he believed Grenell's confirmation would "send an important message" to the LGBTQ community about their ability to serve in the Trump administration.
However, Senate Democrats stalled Grenell's confirmation earlier this week over concerns about his past comments about women.
He has launched "sexist attacks" on Twitter and has disparaged "women in media and politics," HuffPost reports.
A spokeswoman for Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley told CNN on Monday in a statement that the senator had concerns about Grenell’s "significant history of making misogynistic and other incendiary statements online."
Grenell, the representative added, "has also been dismissive of the threat of Russia’s meddling in the U.S., a fact that is doubly concerning as Germany is one of our closest and most important allies in pushing back on Russian aggression on the world stage."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is scheduled to visit the White House on Friday — and she is expected to lobby President Trump against abandoning the Iran nuclear deal and to spare Europe from new tariffs.
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