WASHINGTON \u2014 In April, President Donald Trump nominated Mark Walker, a former Baptist minister and congressman who had served on the House Republican leadership team, to head his administration\u2019s efforts on global religious freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn his new role, Mark will work incredibly hard to expose Human Rights Violations, champion Faith, and help us secure Life Saving Results,\u201d Trump wrote on Truth Social that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But for the past eight months, Walker\u2019s nomination \u2014 for a noncontroversial role in the State Department \u2014 has inexplicably languished in the Senate, while many others tapped after him have already been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Trump administration official and two other GOP sources told NBC News there is one senator who has been working behind the scenes to derail Walker\u2019s confirmation: Ted Budd, of his own home-state, North Carolina, who defeated Walker in a bitterly contested Republican primary for the Senate seat just three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The delay \u2014 which Walker personally told Trump about Thursday in a phone call \u2014 has infuriated Walker\u2019s allies, who say it\u2019s imperative that the Senate confirm him as Trump\u2019s ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The awkward dynamic between the two North Carolinians underscores the petty politics and long memories that exist on Capitol Hill, even when issues like religious persecution and human rights are involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one has more support from Cabinet members, from senators, from House members, from top leaders of faith than this nomination. Yet, for some reason, he\u2019s not been able to get a hearing, while other people have been nominated, even as late as summer, early fall, and are already in their positions,\u201d said a GOP source familiar with the Walker situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo who\u2019s stopping the nomination? Who is it that is preventing this ambassador position to get out there and advocate on behalf of the thousands of Christians and other religious minorities being persecuted, targeted and even killed? Why is one person playing politics on all this?\u201d the source said, directly pointing the finger at Budd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lawyer in Washington who works with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee also said Budd is working to scuttle Walker\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an open secret in Washington that Ted Budd has decided to turn a lifesaving human rights post into collateral damage of unresolved intraparty politics,\u201d said the lawyer, who supports Walker. \u201cVoters deserve to know the truth about the ways in which he has sought to undermine the president\u2019s nominee for this incredibly important post over some petty political grievances. He cannot continue doing so quietly without accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Trump administration official confirmed that Budd was the hold-up but declined to comment otherwise for this article. The GOP source and the lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking on the record, other Walker allies aren\u2019t directly taking aim at Budd but have insinuated he\u2019s the reason for the holdup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ben Carson, who served as Housing and Urban Development secretary during Trump\u2019s first term, said he\u2019s gotten to know Walker through a Wednesday Bible study group of former and current Cabinet members, governors and other officials. He called the nominee a man of \u201ctremendous character\u201d who \u201cbrings so much knowledge of Scripture and forgiveness and cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think there are a few people in the Senate who may have a grudge,\u201d Carson said in a phone interview. Walker, he continued, \u201cspent time in Congress, and when you do that, sometimes you have to run against other people. Sometimes people remember that you were their competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked by NBC News whether Budd was blocking Walker\u2019s nomination, Budd spokesman Christian McMullen said: \u201cSen. Budd is not a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but if Mark Walker\u2019s nomination advances to the floor, Sen. Budd would vote in favor of his nomination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Budd\u2019s office also noted that senators cannot place a formal \u201chold\u201d on a presidential nominee who hasn\u2019t advanced out of the committee of jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker allies say that Budd is obfuscating \u2014 Walker can\u2019t advance out of committee because Budd has worked behind the scenes to prevent a confirmation hearing from even taking place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump tapped Walker on April 10 to be U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. But a confirmation hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which provides oversight of the State Department, still has not been scheduled by Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, who presided over his final confirmation hearing of the year Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s a significant issue for Walker because all executive branch nominations expire when the Senate adjourns at the end of each year, meaning Trump will need to renominate Walker in 2026 \u2014 if he chooses to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a brief interview in the Capitol Monday night, Risch told NBC News he stands by the statement he gave Breitbart last week that his Foreign Relations Committee processes nominations \u201cin consultation with the priority given by the White House, and we move those that have the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis nomination does not fit in either category,\u201d Risch told the conservative news outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under Risch, 67 of Trump\u2019s Senate Foreign Relations Committee nominees have been confirmed, the panel said, and a total of 78 nominees are expected to be confirmed by year\u2019s end. Walker is among 25 Trump Foreign Relations nominees who will not be confirmed this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I deal regularly, daily, with the White House personnel office, with the president himself … We’ve confirmed dozens and dozens of people,” Risch told NBC News. “And the way I do this is, I work with the president, with his priorities, the people he wants. And that moves all the time. I keep a list of it. He keeps a list of it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked by a reporter Thursday about the delay as major religious holidays approach, Trump praised Walker and said he was unaware of any problems with his nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m hearing very good things about him,\u201d Trump said in the Oval Office. \u201cLook, I\u2019ve always found him to be a high-quality person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement, the White House said the president wants to see Walker and other nominees confirmed quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPresident Trump has focused on promoting religious freedom and fighting antisemitism in a historic way,\u201d White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement. \u201cHe wants all of his nominees confirmed as quickly as possible, including Mark Walker, whose role will be critically important to protecting Americans of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shortly after Trump was asked about Walker in the Oval Office, the president and Walker spoke by phone about the delay, the nominee told NBC News. Walker did not answer questions about whether Budd is responsible but said, \u201cPresident Trump prioritized this post because he prioritizes religious freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMany have reached out for help, and my being delayed from fighting for people imprisoned, tortured and killed simply for their faith, has been quite frustrating,\u201d Walker said in a statement to NBC News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn talking with President Trump this past Thursday, I expressed my appreciation for his kind remarks and support he shared earlier in the evening from the Oval Office. I\u2019m also grateful for Sen. Majority Leader [John] Thune, Cabinet members, and faith leaders across the country who\u2019ve continued to offer their support, knowing the importance of this Ambassadorship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs we continue our journey working towards confirmation, we will be relentless, speaking out for religious expression and against the atrocities on people of faith,\u201d Walker added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Budd and Walker served together in the House representing North Carolina and ran against each other in the crowded 2022 Senate primary to replace retiring Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker had a higher profile as the former chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives in Congress, and as former vice chairman of the House GOP Conference. But it was Budd, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, who secured Trump\u2019s endorsement \u2014 and campaign money \u2014 catapulting the little-known congressman to a primary victory over former Gov. Pat McCrory and Walker, and ultimately to the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The GOP primary got contentious, at times, with Walker accusing Budd of ducking debates, not being conservative enough and voting \u201cagainst our farmers and AG producers.\u201d But Walker would go on to endorse Budd in the general election and donate to his campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Religious leaders said it\u2019s now time to put past personal grievances aside and get Walker confirmed and in the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe global state of religious persecution is at such a critical point that to delay the confirmation of the nomination further is detrimental to successful international religious freedom policy. I think it\u2019s detrimental to the most effective U.S. foreign policy,\u201d David Trimble, president of the nonprofit Religious Freedom Institute, said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn my opinion,\u201d Trimble continued, \u201cthese are both good men and they both simply need to rise above the issues that may stem back to the primaries of North Carolina and move beyond those unfortunate things that transpired then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n