White House sends Callista Gingrich nomination to the Senate

The White House sent two nominees to the Senate on Thursday, including Callista Gingrich to serve as ambassador to the Vatican. 

Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), a longtime Trump supporter, is credited with her husband’s conversion to Catholicism and currently sings in the choir of the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington.

While the Senate must confirm her before she steps into the ambassadorship, her nomination has not appeared to draw significant opposition among lawmakers.

{mosads}Newt Gingrich was one of President Trump’s most vocal and steadfast backers on the campaign trail and has continued to defend the president throughout his first few months in office.

Earlier Thursday he reiterated his calls for the Congressional Budget Office to be abolished after the nonpartisan group said the GOP healthcare reform bill would lead to tens of millions losing their health insurance.

Also sent to the Senate on Thursday was George Nesterczuk’s nomination for director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In that post, Nesterczuk would be in charge of the agency responsible for overseeing federal employees’ pay, benefit programs and hiring, among other things.

Nesterczuk has spent 30 years working in the government, including at stints in the OPM, the Defense Department and the Department of Transportation.