Sam Brownback Ambassador For Religious Freedom — Succeeds Rabbi Saperstein

Sam Brownback Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman July 27, 2017

Kansas governor Sam Brownback will get a reprieve from his political troubles in his home state as he takes on the position of ambassador at large for international religious freedom at the State Department.

Brownback, who also served in the past in the House and the Senate, was tapped for the job by President Trump Wednesday and now awaits Senate confirmation.

In a tweet, Brownback said that “Religious Freedom is the first freedom. The choice of what you do with your own soul. I am honored to serve such an important cause.”

He succeeds Rabbi David Saperstein, a leader of the activist Reform Action Center who became the first non-Christian to hold the post.

In his new post, Brownback will be in charge of reporting on religious freedom problems across the world and leading the diplomatic effort to resolve these issues.

Brownback’s popularity at home has reached an all time low, as the fiscal conservative, tax-cutting governor faced criticism over his policies that forced the state to cut services.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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