Fritz Berggren, an employee of the U.S. State Department accused of drafting antisemitic blog posts, is drawing the attention of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
"I have serious concerns about Berggren’s ability to serve as a diplomatic representative – and at one point a key decision-maker in his role as a visa adjudicator – based on his hateful comments," Grassley told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Berggren's blog, called "Blood and Faith" is not new. The blog – which Berggren used in tandem with his podcast to advance his views that Jews are "the enemy" – gained attention from federal officials in 2021. However, he remains employed.
According to the website, his first blog was posted in September 2017.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Grassley first inquired about Berggren's in July, and the State Department confirmed his employment but did not offer any further comments on his status. He currently works as a foreign service officer.
In a follow-up letter on Oct. 30, Grassley sought information from Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding Berggren's employment status and role at the State Department, along with his responsibilities.
He also inquired whether Berggren – who called Jews "the devil's children" in an Oct. 22 post – was required to recuse himself from decision-making due to reported public comments, and whether he served as a visa application adjudicator, and if records exist of his approvals and denials.
"Americans deserve to know why their government thinks an outright antisemite is fit to represent them diplomatically while taxpayers cut his paycheck," Grassley said. "The Biden administration loves to claim ‘hate has no place’ in our country – I suggest they put their money where their mouth is and respond to my oversight."
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller (Screenshot/State Department)
Fox News' Digital reached out to Berggren for comment, but did not hear back by press deadline. However, on Tuesday, he posted to his blog in response to Grassley's letter: "Tough to stay employed when a U.S. Senator publicly demands one’s termination."
"Christians and Whites: stop being afraid of powerful people," the blog post read. "We lose because we are afraid to even engage in rhetorical debate. Our greatest enemy is self-censorship."
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters that due to privacy restrictions, the department is unable to comment on any individual employee.
"I will say, of course, as a general rule, we oppose antisemitism in any form," Miller said. "Secretary has spoken to this quite publicly. Our special envoy to oppose antisemitism has spoken about this in a number of occasions."
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The State Department logo in Washington D.C., on Jan. 9, 2023. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
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After Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7 slaughtering thousands of people, Berggren wrote a blog entitled "That Middle-East Thing…" on Oct. 12.
"Our war is in our homelands. We are invaded, egged on by traitors and Jews who hate the White race. Whites who side with the Jews are traitors to their ancestors," the blog post read.
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