Trump’s pick for German ambassador would be his first openly LGBT ambassador
(Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
Trump’s nomination for the ambassador to Germany would be the first openly LGBT member of his administration.
Richard Grenell, who has served as the United States spokesperson at the United Nations, has been named as Trump’s probable nominee for the position.
(Getty)
If the nomination is confirmed then Grenell will become the first openly LGBT person in the administration.
During his time at the U.N. between 2001 and 2008, Grenell served under President George W. Bush.
Trump’s administration has pushed through a number of controversial anti-LGBT policies and laws since taking office in January this year.
The most recent and dividing policy was Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military.
The president took to Twitter to announce the ban.
On Friday (August 25), Trump officially and indefinitely instructed the Pentagon to ban transgender troops from serving in the US Military when he signed a presidential memorandum.
The memo gives Mattis six months to implement the ban, by 23 March 2018.
He was also accused of major hypocrisy after an address he made on Monday night about the US Military in which he said there was “no room for prejudice… for bigotry.”
Protesters gather in front of the White House on July 26, 2017, in Washington, DC.
(Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
Two lawsuits were launched against Trump and his administration in one day over the trans military ban.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuits in the US District Court in Western Washington on behalf of all transgender people who want to enlist.
The first claims that the move to ban transgender military personnel relied on “uninformed speculation, myths and stereotypes, and a desire to harm transgender people”.
The second suit claimed that prejudice towards trans people fired the decision to enforce the ban.
Joshua Block, an attorney for ACLU said that trans personnel were of more worth than the ban that had been imposed.
“Men and women who are transgender with the courage and capacity to serve deserve more from their commander-in-chief,” Block said.
Plaintiffs in the case said the policy was “dripping with animus”.
