Editorial: Kansas governor is a curious choice as America’s torchbearer for religious freedom – STLtoday.com

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownbacks nomination as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom has observers wondering about President Donald Trumps priorities. When 27 senior State Department positions remain vacant and no ambassadors have been appointed to nations such as South Korea, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, what makes filling a position promoting religious freedom such an urgent, core objective of U.S. foreign policy?

The main function of the State Department office that Brownback would head is to monitor religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, to recommend and implement policies and to issue an annual report. If this is a top concern of the Trump administration, theres been precious little mention of it.

Six months into Trumps presidency, five of the six deputy positions under Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have yet to be filled permanently, along with 22 of 24 assistant secretary positions. Meanwhile, an estimated 85 percent of key executive branch positions remain vacant in the administration.

Trump has tried to blame Democrats for stalling confirmations, which is true in a small number of cases. But a New York Times recent analysis of the vacancies shows that on average, Trumps nominees are taking only nine days longer to be confirmed than former President Barack Obamas.

Conservative religious leaders are pleased with Brownbacks nomination, which Trump announced the same day he surprised Pentagon leaders with his tweet banning transgender people from military service. Others arent so enthusiastic.

Brownback, 60, is a devout Catholic and staunch opponent of abortion and gay rights. While governor he signed a law allowing faith-based campus religious groups to restrict membership to like-minded citizens. The state of California restricted state-funded travel to Kansas afterward, citing that as a reason.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is also concerned, citing a bill Brownback signed in 2012 to block use of Islamic law in Kansas courts and government agencies. He also has tried to block the federal government from resettling refugees from Syria or other countries in Kansas.

If he wins Senate approval, Brownback will be the nations fifth such ambassador-at-large, succeeding Rabbi David Saperstein, the first non-Christian to hold the post. Obama had left the position vacant for nearly half his time in office before nominating Saperstein in 2015.

U.S. advocacy for global religious freedom can help promote political and social stability and counter religious extremism. The nonprofit Religious Freedom Institute notes that expanding religious freedom can advance human rights and contribute to national security.

Those are worthy goals. Brownbacks conservative views do not disqualify him from championing such causes, but his track record doesnt bode well.

Perhaps the biggest beneficiaries would be the 2.9 million citizens of Kansas, where his controversial conservative fiscal policies wound up turning fellow Republicans against him. Brownback would step down as governor if approved.

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Editorial: Kansas governor is a curious choice as America's torchbearer for religious freedom - STLtoday.com