By Lucian Wintrich, GATEWAY PUNDIT
Former diplomat Richard Grenell, an early supporter of now-President Donald J. Trump, was cast aside by Rex Tillerson for a major NATO post; instead, the position was awarded to one of the leading voices in the #NeverTrump movement, Kay Bailey Hutchison. Highly qualified, Richard Grenell, was the former spokesperson for the US ambassador to the United Nations.
Richard Grenell was also the longest serving US spokesman at the United Nations. He is a FOX News Foreign Policy contributor. Richard is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. Grenell joined the Trump campaign trail early helping, before many others, shape policy issues. Based on his background, resume, and involvement with the campaign, Grenell was reportedly offered the NATO post in January of this year.
Kay Bailey Hutchison served in the US Senate for close to 20 years, in 2012 she ran for governor (and lost) against Rick Perry. Former Gov. Rick Perry is now leading the Department of Energy. If confirmed by the Senate (which is more than likely), Hutchison will replace Earle D. Litzenberger, who is currently serving as the acting permanent representative to NATO. Hutchison refused to go the RNC (Republican National Convention) in Cleveland, giving her NATO is problematic, essentially awarding her for standing in opposition to the president is troublesome. Tillerson was a longtime donor to Hutchison’s campaigns.
Tillerson’s move to appoint another #NeverTrumper is not his first. Tillerson also appointed Brian Hook, another #NeverTrumper, to the State Department. Hook is now blocking members of the Trump campaign and Trump loyalists from getting prominent roles in the current Trump Administration.
One of Trump’s campaign promises, which has been half met, is to finally “drain the swamp.” If the administration wants to drain the swamp, they do need to make sure that the career politicians and detractors are not being given major policy positions, but instead, have those positions filled by loyalists.
The White House needs to pay more attention to the personnel that Tillerson appoints because personnel is policy. If and when more loyalists are hired and career politicians passed by, new voices and ideas will be more active in the Federal Government, and the swamp will be drained.
@ birdalone:
I’d say this young Bard grad is a smart conservative who survived a liberal institution! And, yes! I think he has a bright future as a political analyst! Anyway, what’s wrong with the so-called “Bannon ideological purity test?”
But I do agree with the poster’s wise analysis of what’s needed at Foggy Bottom: Namely, someone with “enough institutional memory to help Tillerson with his massive restructuring & job eliminations at State!”
@ Bill Narvey: The NATO position is Ambassador rank, requires Senate confirmation. Hutchison can get confirmed, and, if Tillerson trusts her, that should be fine for the WH. She works at Bracewell&Giuliani, as did her late husband, so she most likely has had enough time to see the reality of TeamTrump.
Best to find a way to distinguish between unrepentant NeverTrumpers like Eliot A. Cohen, still trashing Trump (last week he was trashing Tillerson at TheAtlantic.com), and establishment Republicans like Hutchison, very redeemable, and very confirmable.
After all, only one Ambassador has been confirmed by Senate: Friedman, and THAT required a lot of apologies, which still failed to gain a single vote from the ‘resistance’.
As for Brian Hook? I doubt he is blocking other nominations – there is an entire team still vetting nominees. Hook has enough institutional memory to help Tillerson with his massive restructuring and job eliminations at State. All I could find was Hook’s objections to candidate Trump ‘soft on Russia’ and ‘weak on NATO’, which have both changed.
Better question is why anyone should listen to the author of this. Is he a Bannonite seeking absolute ideological purity?
He is 28 and a graduate of Bard College, so maybe he is just seeking freelance work.
You need sometimes to bring your “enemies” closer to you to enlarge your base!
When Gen Mattis was pushing to have Anne Patterson, former Ambassador to Egypt as his undersecretary of defence, the WH pushed back and Patterson was dropped. https://www.conservativereview.com/articles/why-does-general-mattis-want-the-female-john-kerry-at-a-prominent-pentagon-post
So why did the WH not push back against Tillerson’s decision to choose Kay Baily Hutchinson instead of Grinnell and choose Brian Hook instead of a person qualified but aligned in view with the WH?
Is Trump following the adage, “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”?