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Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance used his power as a senator to block the confirmation of a U.S. ambassador who supports the rights and visibility of the LGBTQ community.
The Washington Post reported that it had obtained a leaked copy of a survey Vance sent to potential foreign service candidates, asking about their stance on a range of LGBTQ issues.
If a candidate answers affirmatively, Vance will withhold the nomination, preventing it from receiving a confirmation vote in the U.S. Senate.
Amid his campaign to weed out pro-LGBTQ experts, Vance also withheld the nominations of more than 30 candidates for Senate-confirmed posts at the State Department that would have served in countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, among other places.
Under Senate rules, a hold can be lifted by the senator who imposed it or rejected by a clerical vote.
But the time it took to vote on the suspension slowed the confirmation process and denied unanimous consent to move forward with up-or-down votes on a range of nominations, forcing the ruling party to call for separate votes. As a result, many posts in U.S. embassies abroad will remain vacant or be temporarily filled by lower-ranking officials.
Vance does not sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which typically handles such nominations.
The survey Vance used to gauge diplomats’ views on LGBTQ-related issues asked several questions about LGBTQ visibility and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Among the questions were whether diplomats would support increasing the number of gender-neutral restrooms in State Department facilities overseas, whether they would help make it easier for State Department employees and their dependents to access resources for gender dysphoria and gender reassignment care, and whether they would promote policies that encourage the inclusion of LGBTQ children in schools overseas.
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The survey asked candidates how they would conduct Pride Month celebrations, how they would implement the Biden Administration’s goal of making the advancement of LGBTQ rights a foreign policy priority, where they think it is appropriate to fly the “progressive” Pride flag at U.S. embassies and consulates, and whether they would implement diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility standards when making promotion decisions for positions under their management.
Vance’s desire to explore ambassadorial candidates’ specific views on LGBTQ issues is consistent with his vocal opposition to “woke” concepts and ideas.
The existence of the survey was reported by Politico last year, but Vance declined to make it public.
Barbara Stevenson, a former ambassador to Panama who served as a senior official in both Republican and Democratic administrations, told The Washington Post that Vance’s desire to exclude pro-LGBTQ candidates has forced candidates to navigate a narrow path of appeasing U.S. senators while also countering President Joe Biden’s assertion that LGBTQ rights are a form of human rights.
“Career diplomats are put in a tough spot when they are asked to publicly comment on how they would support policies that the current administration supports but the next administration may not,” Stevenson said. “One party may support a climate change agreement or environmental and social action, but another party may not. Career diplomats are expected to support the administration’s policies, even if it means changing positions they previously held for or against.”
Unsurprisingly, conservatives argue there is nothing wrong with Vance’s attempts to block pro-LGBTQ nominees.
“It’s not far-fetched to argue that the ambassador would be professionally suited to focus on the job at hand rather than trying to advance what most of these countries would see as extremely radical social issues,” Wade Miller, vice president of the conservative think tank Center for American Renewal, told the Post. “Vance is part of the upper echelons of the Republican Party that are talking about these issues and taking them seriously.”
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At one point, Vance vehemently opposed the nomination of Stephanie Sullivan, a career diplomat who was Biden’s pick to be special envoy to the African Union.
Vance accused Sullivan, a former ambassador to Ghana, of being “woke” and promoting a “progressive social agenda” on gender identity while overseeing an embassy that flew the Pride flag — a practice now banned under a provision in the government spending bill Biden signed in March to avert a government shutdown.
“Why do we have a diplomatic corps that takes an issue that is hotly debated in the American political context and demands that African countries follow the lead of the far left rather than doing what they believe should be done?” Vance said in a scathing rebuke to Sullivan on the Senate floor.
The State Department said Sullivan’s decades-long career as a foreign service officer was “exemplary” and that Vance’s “baseless criticisms” were unfounded.[s] The attacks on her work are not an accurate reflection of her contributions to our country.”
According to the Washington Post, Vance was highly skeptical of Biden’s nominee and had repeatedly discussed his concerns with Biden’s senior advisers, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Ultimately, Vance and State Department officials reached an agreement that satisfied Vance that the Biden administration would not prioritize ideology over national security concerns.
In response, Vance announced 30 nominations and allowed those appointees to undergo a confirmation vote, except for Sullivan and David Kostelancik, Biden’s pick to be the U.S. ambassador to Albania. Sullivan was ultimately confirmed by a closing vote last month, but Kostelancik’s nomination remains pending.
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Kostelanczyk, who previously served as charge d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest, was reprimanded by Hungarian authorities in 2017 for saying the Hungarian government, led by right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was trying to seize control of the media to spread propaganda.
To Republicans who want to replicate Orbán’s right-wing populism in the U.S., and to Vance, who is a particular admirer of Orbán’s pro-natal and anti-LGBTQ policies, any criticism of such fascistic tendencies is blasphemy.
Vance has made no secret of his efforts to remove from the diplomatic corps people who hold so-called “woke” views on social issues. He seemed delighted by the Post article, sarcastically posting to X, “They got me.”
They caught me pic.twitter.com/J2YYXDCoSz
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 20, 2024
Trump supporters and conservatives praised Vance for blocking the nomination.
“Another great reason why you should be VP!” one X user wrote.
Another great reason why you should be Vice President!
— Steve Ferguson (@lsferguson) July 20, 2024
“Imagine believing this is a bad thing,” another wrote.
Imagine believing this is a bad thing🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) July 20, 2024
“How much did they pay you to write this amazing ad?” a third added.
How much did you pay them to write this amazing ad?
— Tristan Tate (@TateTheTalisman) July 20, 2024
“The first ever anti-liberal medal. Wear it like a badge of honor. You are definitely doing something right. Congratulations on your nomination. You will do great,” a fourth user wrote.
This is your first illiberal medal. Wear it like a badge of honor. You are definitely doing something right. Congratulations on your nomination. You will do great things.
— TonemanLives 🇺🇸🇮🇹 (@TonemanLives) July 22, 2024
The Human Rights Campaign criticized Vance’s actions and reiterated its support for the Biden administration’s goal of protecting LGBTQ rights overseas.
“The United States has a responsibility to uphold human rights around the world, including the freedom for LGBTQ+ people to live and love without fear,” HRC’s Brandon Wolf said in a statement. “Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are fellow anti-LGBTQ+ stalwarts who have made it clear that if they hold the keys to the Oval Office, they would destroy American values on the world stage.”
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