Donald Trump’s nominee for Army Secretary, Mark Green, announced Friday he would remove himself from consideration.
“It is with deep regret today I am withdrawing my nomination to be the Secretary of the Army,” Mark Green said in a statement.
The decision by Green, Trump’s second pick for the post, came after his nomination ran into trouble following a backlash after past controversial statements on LGBT issues, Islam and evolution were revealed, reported CNN.
Since Trump’s announcement of Green’s nomination, LGBT advocacy groups including HRC and GLAAD worked diligently to expose Mark Green’s shameful anti-LGBTQ record and rhetoric, and the danger his nomination posed to LGBTQ service members and their families.
“Mark Green’s dangerous views and hateful comments are disqualifying for any public servant, let alone someone wishing to serve as secretary of the Army. His nomination was a clear indication of Donald Trump’s lack of judgement and failure to be a president for all Americans,” said Chad Griffin, President of the Human Rights Campaign. “We thank the many Senators, from both parties, who expressed concerns about this nomination. HRC’s millions of members and supporters stood strong against Donald Trump’s nomination of Green, and we will continue to fight back against any appointment or policy made by this president that puts our community at risk.”
GLAAD exposed audio April 20 in which Mark Green told the Hotwash with CJ and Alex Program that transgender Americans were an “evil” that must be “crushed.”
“Discrimination and anti-LGBTQ beliefs have no place in our military. GLAAD’s leaked audio and the outrage from our supporters helped sink Mark Green’s nomination, but we now need to continue to hold the Trump Administration accountable by fighting back on every attempt to erase the LGBTQ community from this nation.”
HRC lead a robust campaign to #StopMarkGreen and expose his shameful history of attacking LGBTQ people:
- HRC members took over 25,000 actions to #StopMarkGreen, including making over 6,800 calls to the Senate just this week
- HRC: Trump Nominates Radical Anti-LGBTQ State Legislator to Lead U.S. Army
- HRC: Here’s Why Mark Green’s Anti-LGBTQ Attacks Makes Him Wholly Unfit to Lead the U.S. Army
- HRC: Trump’s Army Secretary Nominee Dismisses Anti-LGBTQ Attacks as Just “Politics”
- HRC Led A Letter With More Than 40 Civil Rights Organizations to Senate Armed Services Committee
Mark Green’s shameful record includes using slurs against the transgender community, describing former President Obama’s guidance protecting transgender students an example of “tyrannical government,” saying being transgender is a “disease,” and encouraging the state of Tennessee to defy federal law and deny marriage licenses to gay couples.
If Green had been confirmed, he would have succeed former Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning, who made history as the first openly gay leader of a branch of the U.S. military.
