Sam Brownback

A U.S. Senate committee has given the green light for the full chamber to proceed with a vote on Gov. Sam Brownback’s confirmation to an ambassador-at-large position.

Approval by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the position relating to international religious freedom was the first hurdle after President Donald Trump picked Brownback for the role in July.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said Tuesday that he is issuing a single pardon and denying 72 other requests for clemency made to his office.

The action comes as Brownback prepares for a likely departure to join the administration of President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Brownback said he is pardoning Mark Schmitt, who was convicted of felony theft in 1994 over a false insurance claim of about $1,500. The Prisoner Review Board had recommended clemency.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback takes questions from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today during his long-awaited confirmation hearing to become ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback made a secretive trip to Israel this summer and met with the prime minister there.

Gov. Sam Brownback says his hearing for a job in the Trump administration will take place next week.

As the U.S. State Department is reorganized, the job Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is poised to take on could get bigger.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Congress on Monday that he plans to scrap dozens of special envoys and diplomatic positions.

The office Brownback has been tapped for – ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom – will absorb four of the offices that are being eliminated, along with their staff and nearly $2 million in resources.