Trump’s gay ‘special envoy’ Ric Grenell eyes ambassador to Russia position

Richard Grenell, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for “special missions,” has expressed interest in becoming the U.S. ambassador to Russia, according to a Daily Mail report citing sources familiar with internal discussions.

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Two sources told the Daily Mail that Grenell has “floated” the idea of taking the Moscow post among colleagues, though there is no indication the White House has formally considered or approved him for the role. The position, among the most sensitive in U.S. diplomacy, has remained vacant for months as tensions between Washington and Moscow persist.

Grenell, who is gay, previously served as U.S. ambassador to Germany and briefly as acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term. He now operates in a roving role, handling politically sensitive assignments that Trump assigns to him.

His reported interest in Moscow would place him in a country that has spent the better part of a decade systematically codifying anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination into law.

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Russia’s 2013 “gay propaganda” law banned any public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors. In December 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation expanding that ban, making it illegal to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal” for people of any age, sharply widening censorship across media and public life.

In November 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court granted a request from the country’s Justice Ministry to outlaw the “international LGBT movement” as “extremist,” allowing authorities to criminalize advocacy and potentially prosecute individuals for expressions of LGBTQ+ identity or support.

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The 2023 designation enabled authorities to pursue a broader range of arbitrary charges, including, for the first time, criminal prosecutions against LGBTQ+ people and their supporters, according to Human Rights Watch. The group says those policies have fueled a documented climate of fear, with reports of harassment, detention, and violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Russian officials, including Putin, have repeatedly described LGBTQ+ rights as a Western import incompatible with Russia’s “traditional values,” a framing the Kremlin has used to justify expanding repression. The speculation about Grenell’s interest comes just days after he was pushed out as president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following a turbulent, politically charged tenure.

As The Advocate has reported, Grenell’s leadership of the Kennedy Center became a flashpoint in Trump’s broader cultural agenda. Installed during a restructuring, he oversaw a period marked by artist withdrawals and backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates, the cancellation of a planned Pride concert, and the relocation of some WorldPride-related events after organizers said the venue no longer felt welcoming.

Grenell has pushed back on aspects of the reporting. Reached for comment by The Daily Beast, he called the claims “totally fake news.”