Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany and an ardent supporter of President Trump’s agenda, has broken the long practice of embassies seeking — and getting — more funding every year. In what was described as a first, he asked for zero extra in his budget request.
What’s more, in a demonstration of his pledge to be frugal with tax dollars, he ended his last budget year with a $7.7 million surplus.
In becoming the first American ambassador to seek no future year budget increase and to cut costs, he has won praise in Washington, especially from famed penny-pincher Sen. Rand Paul.
“It is a big step in the right direction,” said the Kentucky Republican.
One year with Ambassador Grenell. From #Kiel in the north to #Tegernsee in the far south, #Leipzig in the east to #Düsseldorf in the west, it’s been a year filled with great experiences. Looking forward to Year 2. pic.twitter.com/KSHcV33tiQ
— US-Botschaft Berlin (@usbotschaft) May 8, 2019
“I would give compliments were compliments were due. Anybody that is working in government that says they can hold the line on their budget deserves to be complimented,” he added.
In a call from Berlin, Grenell explained that he believes his mission can do its job without any more money or staff. As a result, he sought nothing in his future year requests.
He said that such a move is unheard of in diplomatic circles.
“First of all I have to give credit by saying President Trump and Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo expect us to be frugal and efficient with the American taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Here’s a tweet from 2015 that is barely mentioned.
The hate hoax being perpetrated on my friend @VP Mike Pence is sadly tied to a political fundraising strategy. Mayor Pete was silent for years – I’m outraged by his phony outrage. pic.twitter.com/KA0DrknNR2— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 19, 2019
“We have to be smart because we also have a job to do and we want to make sure that the job gets done with the responsibilities that we’ve been given. So we’re not going to be reckless,” added the ambassador who oversees a budget of $132 million.
Grenell is one of the administration’s favorites and is the most prominent gay appointed by Trump. He is also very active on social media, recently defending Vice President Mike Pence against surprise attacks by Democratic presidential candidate, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Paul said that he hopes other embassies look at and follow Grenell’s move.
“I think it could be a model for all the embassies around the world. Everybody’s always saying, ‘Oh, we don’t have enough money for this or that.’ But it really is like everything else in government, everybody wants more, more, more every year. And really people ought to have to justify why you have more…particularly when we are about a $1 trillion short in our budget,” said Paul.
