Trump nominates former SC lieutenant governor for Belize ambassadorship
André Bauer, South Carolina’s former lieutenant governor, was nominated by President Donald Trump to take the role as the United States’ ambassador to Belize, the White House announced Friday.
Bauer, a University of South Carolina graduate, served as former Gov. Mark Sanford’s second-in-command from 2003 to 2011. He also mounted unsuccessful bids for the Republican nomination for governor in 2010 and for the state’s 7th Congressional District in 2012.
In 2016, Bauer was hired by CNN to be a political analyst and commentator, as one of only a few former officeholders to have endorsed then-candidate Trump. His contract was not renewed in 2019, he said, and he left the cable network. Currently, Bauer owns Bunk Aviation, a real estate holding company in Charleston.
Before his tenure as lieutenant governor, Bauer was elected to the S.C. House and state Senate. He has also served as a major in the South Carolina State Guard.
Bauer earned notoriety as lieutenant governor after calling for Sanford to resign in the wake of the governor’s disappearance and extramarital affair. In 2010, in the midst of his gubernatorial campaign, Bauer also made national news after comparing those on government assistance to “stray animals.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 4:50 PM.
