President Donald Trump has outfoxed Senate Republican obstructionists yet again, blowing past Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) for his refusal to schedule a confirmation hearing for his appointee for religious freedom ambassador by just appointing pastor and former North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker (R) to a similar position that does not need Senate confirmation.
As Breitbart News reported in December, Risch refused to schedule a confirmation hearing for Walker—subsequent reporting from other outlets like NBC News confirmed that it was because of quiet opposition from other North Carolinians like Sens. Ted Budd (R-NC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), neither of whom would have likely actually voted against him but still Risch refused to go forward with the process. Risch’s explanation, offered in a statement to Breitbart News, was a lie; the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman claimed that Walker did not have the votes for confirmation, which was not true, and that Walker did not have the support of the president or the White House, which was also untrue. The president, within a day, reaffirmed his support for Walker at a press availability at the White House, and moments after that called Walker to double down.
Since Senate Republicans in the establishment led by Risch have begun 2026 still refusing to schedule the confirmation hearing for Walker, the president just worked around them and developed a new position with essentially the same responsibilities and appointed Walker into it—the key being this new position does not require U.S. Senate confirmation. Walker announced the news on social media on Thursday afternoon.
This workaround from Trump allows Walker to immediately get to work on protecting religious freedom worldwide—again, it is basically the same job as the other senate-confirmed position—and Trump gets what he wants without the Senate weighing in.
It also comes in the immediate aftermath of several GOP senators joining Democrats in the Senate on a War Powers resolution over Venezuela, seemingly signaling Trump’s frustration with the ineptitude of congressional Republicans.
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