(LifeSiteNews) — President Trump has chosen a Tea Party, pro-life conservative Christian and former U.S. Army flight surgeon as Secretary of the Army in a move that LGBTQ activists denounced, according to news sources.
If approved by the Senate, Tennessee State Sen. Mark Green, a Clarksville Republican, would fill the spot occupied by Eric Fanning, who was appointed in 2016 by former President Obama as the first “out” homosexual to hold the post.
Open homosexuality was not allowed in the Armed Forces until Obama signed a bill ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2011. As LifeSiteNews reported, Fanning was a leading pro-“transgender” advocate in the military and a key player behind Obama’s policy change allowing gender-confused individuals to serve openly.
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The 52-year-old Green’s campaign website states: “Dr. Mark Green is a conservative Christian, veteran, father, husband and businessman.” The Tennessean newspaper describes him as “a former Army officer and West Point graduate who is popular among many Tea Party-aligned Republicans.”
The White House’s selection of Green comes after Trump’s previous nominee, billionaire businessman Vincent Viola, withdrew his nomination last month. Viola “said he couldn’t separate himself from his businesses enough so as not to pose a conflict of interest,” the Tennessean reported.
Tennessee was a stronghold for Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
In 2010, Dr. Green published a book, A Night with Saddam, about his face-to-face interview as a Special Ops flight surgeon with captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Green had three tours overseas and graduated from West Point.
Green, who with wife Camie has two children, is the chaplain of the Tennessee Senate GOP Caucus. His extraordinary humanitarian record includes establishing a foundation that provides healthcare to underserved populations throughout the world and operating several free medical clinics.
“Gay” activists miffed
The pro-LGBTQ blog Towleroad and other liberal news sites, including the zealously anti-Trump Huffington Post, are griping that Green sponsored a bill, SB 127, that sought to protect business owners from having to violate their religious and moral conscience by participating in homosexual “marriage” ceremonies.