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Brownback’s Future In Limbo After U.S. Senate Fails To Act On Nomination

Stephen Koranda
/
KPR/File photo
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback's nomination for an ambassador's post is not on a list to hold over until the next U.S. Senate session.

Updated on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m.

Gov. Sam Brownback has more hurdles to clear before potentially leaving Kansas to head the Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department.

The governor’s name wasn’t among dozens of nominees approved in the Senate this week, nor was it on a list of nominees to hold over until its next session.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office said that means when the session ends in early January, Brownback’s nomination will go back to the White House, which would need to renominate him.

According to U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, it could be another month or more before there’s even a vote on Brownback’s nomination.

“It’s a matter now of the paperwork," Moran says. "The White House has to go through the process of sending that nomination back to the United States Senate. Again, I can’t put an exact date in place, but it does slow it down for, I would guess, at least a month.”

Moran says he expects Brownback will ultimately be confirmed for the State Department post.

Brownback has been awaiting confirmation since July, when President Donald Trump picked him for the ambassador-at-large post. His confirmation hearing at the Foreign Relations Committee was in October.

Democrats want a recorded vote rather than a voice vote on Brownback’s confirmation. This week the Senate used voice voting to green-light nominees, including Kansas Solicitor General Stephen McAllister, who was nominated in September to be the next U.S. attorney in Kansas.

Brownback’s nomination has drawn scrutiny from Democrats unhappy with his 2015 decision to repeal anti-discrimination protections for LGBT state workers and his 2016 decision to pull Kansas out of a federal program that resettled refugees.

During the October confirmation hearing, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, pressed Brownback to commit to defending women’s rights and LGBT rights. She pointed to examples of denying women access to abortions for religious reasons. Brownback replied that the International Religious Freedom Office should focus on stopping faith-based discrimination.

The delay in confirming Brownback means the lack of clarity over who is calling the shots in the Governor’s Office — and who will deliver the State of the State address before the Kansas legislative session — will continue a little longer.

In recent months, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer has taken over some of the key functions of Brownback’s job, including preparing the 2018 budget proposal and hiring Cabinet officials and other top administrative staff.

Pressure is mounting on Brownback to resign instead of prolonging the awkward, drawn-out transition.

Kansas News Service editor Amy Jeffries contributed to this story.

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Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio and KCUR covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

 

Celia Llopis-Jepsen writes about how the world is transforming around us, from topsoil loss and invasive species to climate change. She aims to explain why these stories matter to Kansas, and to report on the farmers, ranchers, scientists and other engaged people working to make Kansas more resilient. Email me at celia@kcur.org.