With all of the excitement about the March for Life and positive news taking place for the pro life community, some conservatives may have missed that their is also a bit of encouraging news on the religious liberty front as well.
Governor Sam Brownback was chosen by the Trump administration to be the United States Ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom and his nomination has been stuck in limbo for months now. Trump first nominated Trump for the position in July.
On January 18, 2018, Governor Brownback was again nominated by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He passed the Foreign Relations Committee previously but then his nomination received no traction. Because of inactivity, the nomination process essentially had to be restarted again, with Trump re-nominating Governor Brownback. That naturally meant that Brownback once again had to be nominated by the Foreign Relations Committee. Now that his nomination has been passed out of committee, he will face a full confirmation vote by the entire Senate.
California Family Council’s national counterpart in Washington DC, the Family Research Council, issued a press release in which the President Tony Perkins praised this step forward in the nomination process for Governor Brownback:
âI commend the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for moving Governor Brownbackâs nomination to the Senate floor. Now, itâs time for the full U.S. Senate to act on Governor Brownbackâs confirmation, so that Americans can start giving the worldâs persecuted new hope â first, that they arenât alone, and secondly, that help is on the way.
âFrom the very beginning of his administration, President Trump has been intentional about his desire to pick up the torch for religious liberty, first trying to secure it for Americans here at home through executive order and other directives. But with his nomination of Sam Brownback to Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, the administration has shown its sincerity on restoring the United Statesâ reputation as a voice for the voiceless.
âThe sooner Gov. Brownback is confirmed as ambassador, the sooner the U.S. will be able to expand its efforts to help the persecuted and those targeted for genocide,â concluded Perkins.
Governor Brownback is indeed an excellent choice for the position of Ambassador-at-large for religious freedom. He was an instrumental force behind creating the position in 1998. The Ambassador presides over the Office of International Religious Freedom. “The Office of International Religious Freedom has the mission of promoting religious freedom as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy,” according to the Department of State website. The Office of International Religious Freedom is designed to “promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries.”