James Hormel is sworn in as ambassador in 1999 by the secretary of State.
The ambassador who Chuck Hagel once said was too "aggressively gay" to become a U.S. ambassador has not only accepted an apology, but he's also gone on radio to express his support of the nominee for Defense secretary.
"Times have changed and this gentleman has changed as well," James Hormel, former ambassador to Luxembourg, told Stephanie Miller on her radio show.
Immediately after Hagel issued his apology in December, Hormel was skeptical. He told The Washington Post that "this so-called apology, which I haven't received, but which was made public, had the air of being a defensive move on his part." Hormel also derided it as made "only in service of his attempt to get the nomination."
But after that interview got attention, Hormel announced a change of heart on Facebook. "While the timing appears self-serving, the words themselves are unequivocal -- they are a clear apology," he wrote.
In his latest move, Hormel went on The Stephanie Miller Show saying Hagel's comments "should not disqualify him from consideration." He even said of Hagel, "There are many things about him that make him very attractive." He praised Hagel, for example, for having served in the military during Vietnam.
Watch video of the interview below via Current TV.
