Mark Green, the rabidly anti-LGBT Tennessee state senator tapped by Donald Trump to be Army Secretary, is having a problem making friends in DC.
Green, best known for his frothing attacks on the LGBT community and Muslims, may withdraw from consideration after his words have come back to haunt him. After a steady stream of opposition from both Republicans and Democrats, CNN is reporting that Green may withdraw from consideration.
Green is Trump’s second pick for Army Secretary. Trump’s first choice, billionaire Vincent Viola, withdrew because he couldn’t untangle his financial holdings enough to meet ethics guidelines.
Green is a particularly egregious choice to head a diverse branch of the military. The previous Army Secretary, Eric Fanning, was a highly respected and diplomatic gay man.
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One source told CNN that Green’s politics were “good for the state Senate in Tennessee, not so much to follow a gay Secretary of the Army that Obama had.”
While the military allows transgender soldiers to serve, Green has repeatedly demeaned trans people, saying “If you poll the psychiatrists, they’re going to tell you that transgender is a disease.”
Heather Wilson, Trump’s nominee for Air Force Secretary, is a former Congresswoman with an anti-LGBT record.
With Trump in office over 100 days, no Pentagon officials other than Defense Secretary James Mathis have been confirmed. Green would be the third nominee to head a branch of the military to withdraw from consideration.
