Sixty-nine-year-old Pope Leo XVI made headlines earlier this month when he became the first American to head up the Catholic Church.

However, recent antics by Democrats suggest that the Vatican won't be receiving an ambassador from the new pope's home country anytime soon. 

Dems stand in way of nominee

That development is according to the Daily Wire, which noted the fact of President Donald Trump's nomination of Brian Burch to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.

Burch serves as president and cofounder of CatholicVote, an organization which seeks to politically mobilize Catholics with traditional views.

The Daily Wire noted that Burch has made no secret of his positions regarding abortion, marriage, and gender identity, something which has rankled Democrats.

White House official slams tactics

An unnamed senior White House official told The Daily Wire that Democratic efforts to obstruct Burch's nomination amounts to an assault "on the president’s officials and the president’s ability to stand up his government."

"Democrats have thrown up an unprecedented level of obstruction for nominees that are usually allowed to compress their time," the official complained.

"There’s been an unprecedented number of cloture votes, even for noncontroversial nominees, of which Mr. Brian Burch is one of those individuals," the figure continued.

"We have a new pope, the American government needs to establish new relationships with Vatican City, obviously a critical faith leader for so many billions of people around the world," the individual pointed out.

"And Democrats, in order to attack the president and make a political point, are impeding the formation of this incredibly important relationship and insulting millions of American Catholics in the bargain," the official lamented before adding, "It's a pretty critical situation."

GOP senator: Democrats "look foolish"

The attempt by Democrats to torpedo Burch's nomination has not gone unnoticed by Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, who denounced it as "next-level obstruction."

Democrats gone wild. Why block the Ambassador to The Vatican? What’s up with Reconciliation and the Biden cover up. https://t.co/gssYD8d4zC

— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) May 14, 2025

"Now, we’re going to get through this. We’re going to spend the time to grind these [confirmations] out," the Republican lawmaker insisted.

"But I just think it speaks to how broken these Democrats are…they can’t find their bearings. They have not come to grips with the election loss in November. They’re swinging at every pitch, there’s no doubt about that. And they look foolish," he added.