Who Is Callista Gingrich? Next US Ambassador To Vatican Could Be Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s Wife
Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is be the preferred nominee for President Donald Trump to be the next United States ambassador to the Vatican, White House administration officials confirmed to CNN on Sunday.
Soon after the presidential inauguration, Newt told CNN that Trump was considering his wife to be the ambassador to Vatican.
"She's under consideration," Gingrich said then.
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Callista’s position as the ambassador to Vatican has been under consideration since January, but the White House said it is waiting for approval from the Office of Government Ethics before officially nominating her. The White House would make the announcement as early as this week, before the president meets with Pope Francis in the Vatican on May 24, according to CNN.
Callista, a devout Catholic, is a member of the choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. She told the Christian Broadcasting Network in a 2011 interview that she had "always been a very spiritual person."
Callista had a major role in the 2010conversion of her husband to Catholicism and she also played a critical role in breaking up Newt’s second marriage from his ex-wife and former adviser Marianne Gingrich. The pair divorced in 1999 and he married Callista in 2000, according to the Chicago Tribune. Callista — then Callista Bisek — gave a deposition used at her future husband’s divorce proceedings that the pair had begun dating in 1993 before Newt became House speaker. During his 2012 run for president, Newt’s ex-wife Marianne told ABC News that he had asked her for an open marriage so that he could carry on his relation with Callista, who used to be a congressional aide. However, Newt denied the allegations.
Callista being considered to be a nominee for ambassador was first made public in January, when Trump jokingly said he was intrigued by the idea of choosing Callista because it would also mean Newt could be out if his hair, as the president has a hot-and-cold relationship with the former house speaker. Newt served as a prominent surrogate to Trump during his presidential campaign and was also considered for a cabinet position, but the decided he would not take a role in the administration.
However, the procedure of the nomination took too long. According to one of the White House sources, Callista even threatened to take her name out from the list, as she and her husband eventually grew frustrated of the slow pace of the vetting process.
Others who were considered for the post include Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, but he took out his name. William Simon Jr., a friend of Rudy Giuliani, was also said to be in the running.
Newt was reached by phone on Sunday evening by the New York Times, but he did not comment on the confirmation or denied that his wife could be a possible choice for the position. He only said that he and his wife were told to “be very cautious” until the nomination was confirmed and announced by the administration.
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