Well, that was fast.
One day after appointing the first openly gay cabinet secretary in history, Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump wanted to replace him with anti-LGBT Congressman Doug Collins, R-Georgia.
Trump's appointment of Grenell drew heavy criticism from Democrats, given his rabid loyalty to the president, his hard-right partisan views, and his complete lack of intelligence experience.
Trump recently berated his previous acting intelligence director, Joseph Maguire, for doing his job by sharing information with Congress that Russia is already interfering in the 2020 election in hopes of getting the president re-elected.
The Hill reports: Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Nevada from a Colorado campaign rally that Collins is among the candidates in the running to be nominated to fill the position that has not had a permanent occupant since Dan Coats resigned last August. … Trump's eventual nominee to serve as director of national intelligence would require Senate confirmation. Collins has emerged as one of the president's staunchest allies in the House. As head of the House Judiciary Committee, Collins staunchly defended Trump throughout the impeachment trial and was among the lawmakers who served as a messaging apparatus for his defense team during the Senate trial.
While Collins may share Grenell's fierce loyalty to Trump and lack of intelligence experience, they presumably part ways on LGBT rights.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell, Collins called for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He has also been a co-sponsor of anti-LGBT “religious freedom” bills, and voted against the Equality Act and the Violence Against Women Act.
Collins recently made headlines when he claimed Democrats are “in love with terrorists.”
Despite Trump's apparent interest, Collins told Fox Business on Friday morning that he doesn't want to serve as intelligence director.
“This is not a job that's of interest to me, and it's not one that I'd accept,” Collins said.
