Richard Grenell

Richard Allen Grenell (born September 18, 1966) is an American political operative, diplomat, TV personality, and public relations consultant who served as Acting Director of National Intelligence in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet in 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Grenell served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 2018 to 2020 and as the Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations from 2019 to 2021.

Grenell was a U.S. State Department spokesperson to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration. Following his State Department tenure, he formed Capitol Media Partners, a political consultancy; he also was a Fox News contributor. Grenell was a foreign policy spokesperson for Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign.[1]

In September 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Grenell as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. On April 26, 2018, he was confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 56 to 42.[2] Grenell presented his credentials to the President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on May 8, 2018. His tenure in Germany was controversial and he was described as politically and diplomatically isolated due to his association with the far right and a perceived lack of professionalism.[3][4][5]

Grenell was named as Acting Director of National Intelligence by President Trump in February 2020, making him the first openly gay person to serve in the Cabinet of the United States; he relinquished the role in May 2020. Grenell expressed interest in running in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election[6] but on July 15, 2021 – the day before the filing deadline – he appeared on The Sean Hannity Show to announce that he would not run as a replacement candidate.