US Senate frustrates Trump's nominee to replace Godec

The man picked to replace Robert Godec as the US ambassador in Nairobi is stuck in Washington DC seven months after he was nominated by President Donald Trump.

The White House announced that Senator Kyle McCarter (pictured), a Swahili-speaking politician, was set to replace Godec, whose term expired on March 28, but his approval has been derailed by the US Senate.

Democrats are said to be uncomfortable with McCarter's appointment due to his staunch Christian background that informs his stand on gay rights.

The nominee appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for public vetting on July 31, but his nomination is yet to be debated on.

“McCarter is a tea-party style conservative and a committed evangelical. By the time testimony was taken on his nomination back on July 31, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Republicans on the committee had already left the room – and Democrats ignored his over 30 years of charitable work, ignored the enthusiastic approval of the Kenyan government, ignored the economic issues – and made this a simple case of how vigorously he was committed to gay rights,” former newspaper editor Charlie Johnston said.

According to Steve Mwangi, a Kenyan living in Ohio, the Senate should expedite the exercise to allow McCarter to start his job.

“Senator McCarter is gearing to return to Kenya, which is like his second home," Mr Mwangi said, adding that they met three weeks ago when the ambassador-designate attended a burial of Paul Macharia, a Kenyan, in Missouri.

According to Chicago Tribune, McCarter was first nominated last year by Illinois’ Republican congressional delegation.

McCarter, along with his parents, founded Each One Feed One International, which helps orphaned and abandoned children and also provides medical treatment for those infected with HIV and malaria.