ROME — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, as the next U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.
“I am pleased to announce that Brian Burch will serve as the next United States Ambassador to the Holy See.” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote.”
Burch “has received numerous awards, and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the Country,” he continued. “He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History!”
The president-elect was referring to his striking 15-point victory among U.S. voters over Kamala Harris in the recent presidential election.
“Brian loves his Church and the United States – He will make us all proud,” Trump wrote. Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!”
“This nomination is a testament to the importance of Catholics in the United States,” CatholicVote wrote in response. “Thank you, President Trump.”
“I am deeply honored and humbled to have been nominated by President Trump to serve as the United States Ambassador to the Holy See,” Burch said in a separate post. “Words cannot express my gratitude to all those that have helped me achieve this nomination, most especially my wife Sara, my 9 beautiful children, my CatholicVote team, and all those who supported me in this journey.”
“I am especially grateful to the example of my father, who passed to eternal life this past June, who taught me to love the Church and the profound blessings and responsibilities of being a citizen of the United States,” he added.
Last July, Burch blasted Kamala Harris for her well-known record of “anti-Catholic bigotry.”
“Kamala Harris has a history of anti-Catholic bigotry,” Burch wrote on X, and “believes that all faithful Catholics should be disqualified from serving as federal judges.”
As a congresswoman on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Harris notoriously grilled U.S. District Court nominee Brian C. Buescher in 2018 regarding his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization, suggesting that this affiliation might disqualify him for judgeship.
Harris asked Buescher whether he was aware that the Knights of Columbus held “extreme positions” on life and marriage, such as opposition to “a woman’s right to choose” and “marriage equality” when he joined the organization, two positions that characterize not only the Knights but the Catholic Church itself.
“Since the day she stepped into public life, Kamala Harris has epitomized gross incompetence, corruption and shameless bigotry that have become the mark of hard-left politicians,” Burch noted. “She has specifically targeted people of faith and pro-life citizens for their beliefs and defense of the most defenseless in our society.”
“Not only has Harris characterized Catholic Church teachings as ‘extreme’ and disqualifying for the federal judiciary, but she has also helped lead an administration that sought to weaponize the government against their political opponents,” he said.
Commenting on Trump’s victory in November, Burch wrote: “Catholic voters played a decisive role in the historic victory of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, with some exit polls suggesting Trump defeated Harris among Catholics by a 14 point margin.”
“These numbers are shocking,” he continued, “and could prove to be the largest margin among Catholics in a presidential race in decades. Catholics proved again to be a critical voting bloc that cannot be ignored.”
Burch said that Trump and Vance won Catholics by a “massive margin” by promising to improve the lives of those most impacted by inflation, and by promising to bring about a humane and orderly solution to the chaos at the border.
Further, Trump and Harris “differed sharply over the role of religion in America,” he said, with Harris “sealing her fate by telling Christians they didn’t belong at her rallies, before declaring there would be no accommodations for people of faith on abortion.”
“Catholics are increasingly attracted by the agenda of the new right, popularized by Trump, which combines family-first social policies with America-first economic priorities,” he said.