On Tuesday, Brian Burns withdrew his name from consideration as President Trump's pick for ambassador to Ireland, saying through a spokesman that he hurt his back in "a bad fall a few weeks ago" but had been honored to be "considered to be U.S. ambassador to his beloved Ireland." Trump indicated that Burns would be his pick in December, though he never formally nominated him. Now, the position is open, and Irish media has some suggestions for Trump, or at least some speculation. Topping the list: White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Doesn't Spicer already have a full-time Trump administration job? Yes, concedes IrishCentral, but ambassador to Dublin "would be the perfect landing spot for this proud-as-punch Irishman who once appeared on CNN wearing Shamrock covered pants on St. Patrick's Day." Trump has been openly speculating about firing Spicer since soon after he appointed him, and there is some precedent for shunting White House aides to foreign embassies: Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland is now Trump's nominee for ambassador to Singapore, and in May, The Washington Post reported that there has been White House discussion of Trump dispatching Chief of Staff Reince Priebus "to serve as ambassador to Greece — his mother is of Greek descent — as a face-saving way to remove him from the White House."
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