Bush was the first Republican president to appoint an openly gay man to serve in his administration, Scott Evertz, as director of the Office of National AIDS Policy. In addition, during Bush's first term, his nominee as ambassador to Romania, Michael E. Guest, became the first openly gay man to be confirmed by the Senate as a U.S. ambassador. The first openly gay ambassador, James Hormel, received a recess appointment from Bill Clinton after the Senate failed to confirm the nomination.