Democrats outraged after Donald Trump installs hairdryer heir to top administrative post in Bermuda

Lee Rizzuto Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Barbados, is getting an island post after all after his past tweets about former Trump rivals helped sink his confirmation.

Rizzuto will head to Bermuda instead, where he will serve as ‘principal officer’ of the U.S. Consulate, the State Department announced Wednesday. The post doesn’t require Senate confirmation.

Rizzuto served as a senior executive at Conair, a family company, and chaired the Professional Beauty Association – although his resume was light on diplomacy and did not win him sufficient support on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Lee Rizzuto Jr., pictured with Denise Rizzuto at Mar-a-Lago, will serve as the ‘principal officer’ in Bermuda, the State Department announced

He was also a big Trump donor, contributing $449,000 to Trump’s campaign PAC in May 2016. 

‘It appears that the Administration has realized that they cannot confirm Rizzuto to Barbados, so they are sending him to Bermuda instead. Outrageous,’ a congressional Democratic aide told DailyMail.com after the State Department announced the move.

Two weeks after Trump nominated him, Rizzuto agreed to underwrite the cost of the Trumpettes USA gala at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., the Washington Post reported in 2018. 

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska mocked Rizzuto as having a ‘tinfoil hat’ after CNN unearthed his tweets about an array of conspiracy theories. Unfortunately for Rizzuto, two of them involved sitting Foreign Relations members.

One was about Heidi Cruz, the wife of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Like then-candidate Trump, Rizzuto retweeted an unflattering image of Heidi Cruz with a threat to ‘spill the beans’ on her and called her a ‘Wall Street insider.’ He also did a retweet that referenced a conspiracy theory also promoted by Trump that Cruz’s father, Rafael, was involved in the Kennedy assassination. 

Having failed to get Senate confirmation to an ambassadorship, Rizzuto will serve as 'principal officer' of the U.S. Consulate in Bermuda

Having failed to get Senate confirmation to an ambassadorship, Rizzuto will serve as ‘principal officer’ of the U.S. Consulate in Bermuda

President Trump in 2018 nominated Rizzuto Jr. to be ambassador to Barbados

President Trump in 2018 nominated Rizzuto Jr. to be ambassador to Barbados

Sen. Mitt Romney sits on the Foreign Relations Committee

Sen. Mitt Romney sits on the Foreign Relations Committee

Rizzuto also went after then-Trump rival Sen. Ted Cruz online in 2016

Rizzuto also went after then-Trump rival Sen. Ted Cruz online in 2016

One Rizzoto retweet went after Sen. Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi

One Rizzoto retweet went after Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi

Another put Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in a dunce cap

Another put Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in a dunce cap

A retweet called Romney a 'dumb a**'

A retweet called Romney a ‘dumb a**’

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) predicted in 2018 Rizzuto would have a hard time getting confirmed after promoting 'salacious conspiracy theories and cuckoo allegations'

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) predicted in 2018 Rizzuto would have a hard time getting confirmed after promoting ‘salacious conspiracy theories and cuckoo allegations’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's agency announced the move

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s agency announced the move

President Trump, pictured before the SpaceX launch got scrubbed, nominated Rizzuto, a campaign donor, to an ambassadorship in 2018

President Trump, pictured before the SpaceX launch got scrubbed, nominated Rizzuto, a campaign donor, to an ambassadorship in 2018

‘We are pleased to announce that Lee Rizzuto will be the next Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Hamilton, Bermuda,’ State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

‘As Principal Officer, Mr. Rizzuto will lead a team whose mission is to protect U.S. citizens in Bermuda and deepen the strong economic and cultural ties between the United States and Bermuda,’ he said.

The release didn’t note any foreign policy experience or a past association with Bermuda. It did note that ‘Mr. Rizzuto is past Chairman of the Professional Beauty Association (PBA). He was Director of North American Beauty Events LLC from 2005-2018, the producer of Cosmoprof NA – Americas largest B2B Beauty Show – as well as the creator and publisher of “Style Source Magazine,” which became the global leader in beauty industry publications.’

‘For over 30 years he helped build his family’s business, Conair, into one of the largest private companies in the United States and introduced over 1,000 new products,’ the statement said. ‘At Conair, with offices in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America, he was Senior Vice President for Professional Global Business Units.’

Sasse predicted in 2018 Rizzuto would have a hard time getting confirmed after promoting ‘salacious conspiracy theories and cuckoo allegations,’ according to Yahoo News.

Although the State Department did not mention it in its bio, Rizzuto also has secured numerous patents – for items ranging from a beard trimmer, a hair clipper, a zippered bag, and a handle for a hair drier. Allgov.com reported on his patents in 2018. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk