July 27 (UPI) -- Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback will be nominated as President Donald Trump's ambassador at large for international religious freedom, the White House announced.
Brownback, 60, became Kansas' governor six years ago after serving in the U.S. Senate from 1996-2011 and the House for one term. Brownback, an attorney who comes from a farming family, was a Republican presidential candidate in 2007.
As ambassador at large, Brownback would lead of the Office of International Religious Freedom under the State Department. The office's mission is to monitor "religious persecution and discrimination worldwide, recommend and implement policies in respective regions or countries, and develop programs to promote religious freedom."
If confirmed by the Senate, Brownback will be replaced by in Kansas by Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer.
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Rabbi David Saperstein, former director of the Union for Reform Judaism's Religious Action Center, held the position under the Obama administration.
The White House said Wednesday that Brownback "worked actively on the issue of religious freedom in multiple countries and was a key sponsor of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998."
"Religious Freedom is the first freedom," Brownback wrote on Twitter. "The choice of what you do with your own soul. I am honored to serve such an important cause."
"I wish him all the best in his new post and would like to express my gratitude for his extensive service to the State of Kansas," Republican state House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., told The New York Times. He noted Brownback was "uniquely qualified" for the ambassadorship.
Brownback is presently the second-least popular governor in the United States, behind New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. In a recent Morning Consult poll, only 25 percent approved of his job performance and 63 percent disapproved.
Because of Brownback's tax-cutting doctrine, state services were slashed and revenue declined -- prompting Kansas Democrats and Republicans to override the governor's veto that rolled back his tax cuts.
"He leaves behind a legacy of failed leadership," state Rep. Melissa Rooker, a moderate Republican who has frequently opposed Brownback's policies, told the Times.
