Embattled Gov. Brownback to be Ambassador of Religious Freedom

On Wednesday, President Trump announced his nomination of beleaguered Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to head the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom.

Brownback, a convert to Roman Catholicism, responded to the news with a tweet:

"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."

If the Senate approves his nomination, Brownback will be responsible for monitoring and responding to threats to religious freedom around the world.

At a news conference on Thursday, the Republican governor accepted the nomination, saying, "I am honored to assume - if approved by the Senate - such an important role." Brownback, who’s served in both the House and Senate, continued, "The issue of religious freedom is incredibly important and this administration is committed to working on it and working aggressively on this topic. I look forward to carrying this mantle of international religious liberty and freedom around the world on a number of topics.”

The White House announced Brownback’s nomination by noting that "while a member of the Senate, he worked actively on the issue of religious freedom in multiple countries and was a key sponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."

Brownback, who has about 18 months left on his second term, said there’s no timetable for when he’ll transition to Religious Ambassador. The transition cannot happen soon enough for many in Kansas: Brownback is one of America’s least-popular governors.

In 2012, Brownback launched a series of tax cuts which he said would deliver "a shot of adrenaline" to Kansas’ economy. The former Congressman promised these cuts would make Kansas a “red state model” for the rest of the nation.

Alas, his conservative fiscal policies were more of a shot of novocaine, and they sent state revenues plummeting. In June, the Kansas legislature – including many in his own party – overrode Brownback’s veto of a bill that reversed the tax cuts.

"Sam Brownback will be remembered for becoming the most unpopular governor in America," Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, said in a statement on Twitter. "His tax experiment failed to grow the economy as he promised. Instead, his policies have bankrupted our state."

Not everyone in Kansas is as critical as Hensley. Republican State Senator Ty Masterson lauded the governor’s accomplishments to the New York Times, noting that during Brownback’s tenure, Kansas went from "an abortion state to a strong anti-abortion state, and from a high-income-tax to a low-income-tax state."

Brownback’s departure would elevate Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer to the governorship.

--Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons)