Palm Springs' Richard Grenell is reportedly in line to be Trump's pick as the next ambassador to NATO.(Photo: Courtesy of Grenell)

Richard Grenell was recently passed over as President Donald Trumps pick to the United Nations, but could be tapped for another roleambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO.

A Fox News contributor and resident of Palm Springs, Grenell would be the highest-ranking openly gay member of the Trump administration. Bloomberg reported the news on Tuesday.Grenell did not return a message seeking comment Friday.

For President George W. Bush, Grenell served under four U.S. Ambassadors to the U.N. and went on to work briefly on Mitt Romneys 2012 presidential campaign as a national security adviser. Hes parlayed that political and foreign policy experience into a consulting firm with offices on the east and west coasts.

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In recent years, Grenell has been critical of both Russia and the Obama administration, advocating, for instance, that the U.S. provide arms to the Ukrainian government. Obama resisted those calls in Congress, saying he didnt want to antagonize Russia a world view that Grenell described in the New York Times as nave and dangerous.

If you dont want war then you better be the advocate for diplomacy with muscle, Grenell wrote in February 2014.

Later that year, Grenell argued in a Foxop-ed that the U.S. military was the most powerful deterrent against Vladimir Putins offensive maneuverings in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. In fact, Putins unfettered offensive to reclaim Russias lost empire has convinced him that the European Union and the United States are unwilling to stop him.

He called on the U.S. to restart the missile defense shield programs in Poland and the Czech Republic that had been previously promised.

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Trump made waves on the campaign trail when he called NATO, a nearly 68-year-old intergovernmental alliance, obsolete, questioning its security guarantees and ongoing cost. His allies, Grenell included, said Trump was negotiating, as a businessman does, and more interested in reform. The U.S. in 2016 contributed about $2 billion towards the alliance military budget, or about a fifth of the total cost.

Trump has softened his position since winning the election, saying NATO is very important to me." Defense Secretary James Mattis, whos described the alliance as essential for American security, has called on othermembers to contribute more money.

Jesse Marx covers politics. Reach him at jesse.marx@desertsun.com or @marxjesse on Twitter.

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Palm Springs' Ric Grenell could be in running for NATO post - The Desert Sun