Mitt Romney's foreign policy spokesman resigned on Tuesday, the former Massachusetts governor's campaign confirmed.
Richard Grenell, who spent just a couple of weeks as a staff member for Romney, submitted his resignation, campaign manager Matt Rhoades said in a statement.
"We are disappointed that Ric decided to resign from the campaign for his own personal reasons," Rhoades said. "We wanted him to stay because he had superior qualifications for the position he was hired to fill."
Grenell had earned a reputation in his career as a feisty figure in interactions with reporters. He is also openly gay, and a Washington Post account of Grenell's resignation suggested the campaign might have faced a backlash due to his sexuality.
"While I welcomed the challenge to confront President Obama’s foreign policy failures and weak leadership on the world stage, my ability to speak clearly and forcefully on the issues has been greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues that sometimes comes from a presidential campaign," Grenell told the Post. "I want to thank Governor Romney for his belief in me and my abilities and his clear message to me that being openly gay was a non-issue for him and his team."
