Mark Green, forced to withdraw as President Trump’s pick to serve as Army secretary, is running for Congress in Tennessee, sources close to the Republican confirmed on Thursday.
Green, a state senator, was one of two Trump nominees for Army secretary forced to remove himself for consideration because of various difficulties. In Green’s case, past provocative statements about Islam and LGBT issues derailed his nomination.
He considered running for Senate against fellow Republican Sen. Bob Corker. But Green pivoted to the House and the suburban Nashville seat being vacated by Rep. Marsha Blackburn after the popular conservative signaled her intent to succeed Corker. Blackburn announced her Senate bid on Thursday.
Green was immediately endorsed by Club for Growth, an influential conservative advocacy group. “Mark is an outstanding advocate for economic growth and would bring fiscal sanity with him when he comes to Washington,” club president David McIntosh said in a statement.
Green, a former Army doctor, is closely aligned with President Trump. His penchant for controversial rhetoric could unsettle some Republicans running in competitive races, as Democrats are likely to force them to answer for Green’s comments.
CNN reported earlier this year that Green told a Tea Party group in 2016: “If you poll the psychiatrists, they’re going to tell you that transgender is a disease.” Three years prior, Green criticized then-President Barack Obama for supporting “transvestites in uniform.”
