Richard Grenell, who became the first openly gay man to serve in the president’s cabinet after being appointed director of national intelligence (DNI) last year, congratulated Pete Buttigieg for being the second after the Senate confirmed the direction of the Department of Transportation on Tuesday.
“Congratulations to @PeteButtigieg for becoming the second openly gay member of the president’s cabinet. Welcome to the club! ”He tweeted on Tuesday afternoon.
Congratulations a @PeteButtigieg by becoming the second openly gay member of the president’s cabinet.
Welcome to the club! pic.twitter.com/BbKK6iTBW1
– Richard Grenell
Richard Grenell, Edward Snowden, the media and the governor of the Espionage Act, Kentucky, call McConnell Pelacs’ house vandalism “unacceptable,” McConnell’s houses vandalized as stimulus control bill K MORE does not happen (@RichardGrenell) February 2, 2021
The Senate voted to confirm that Buttigieg would head the department in an 86-13 vote before Tuesday. While he is only the second openly gay person to have been a member of the president’s cabinet in the country’s history, he is the first the Senate has confirmed in the cabinet.
Grenell became the first openly gay cabinet member after former President Trump appointed him to serve as a DNI in February 2020.
The former ambassador to Germany also criticized the media for its coverage of Buttigieg’s confirmation, which often represented the historic aspects of Tuesday’s vote in the Senate.
“Fake news,” Grenell said in a response to the ABC News post.
False news. https://t.co/CHWyF4yxPI
– Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 2, 2021
Grenell, a staunch supporter of the Republican president, had previously served as U.S. ambassador to Germany and held that position after being appointed to lead the intelligence community. For this position of ambassador, Grenell was confirmed by the Senate in April 2018.
At the time, the appointment sparked concerns among Democrats and career officials who expressed doubts about his qualifications for the post and pointed to previous comments he made about wanting to “empower” Conservative leaders “across Europe.”
“There are many conservatives across Europe who have contacted me to say they feel there is a resurgence,” Grenell told Breitbart in a 2018 interview.
Former National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe was sworn in as Grenell’s successor in late May. Days later, Grenell also left his role as ambassador.
The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as President Biden’s ID card late last month. It was the first of his cabinet selections that confirmed the upper house.