SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Former Utah Senator Derek Kitchen has been appointed to serve in the Biden-Harris Administration, according to a social media post on Friday.

Kitchen tells his followers, “As a political appointee, I’ll be running the Office of Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which is the official export credit agency tasked with supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports.”

Kitchen says it’s an opportunity to help domestic businesses grow, and to export high-quality American goods across the world. “With the President’s leadership, America is building a resilient economy and robust domestic manufacturing that benefits everyday Americans. I am eager to use my experience as a State Senator and entrepreneur to support the Biden-Harris Administration,” he states.

Kitchen co-founded and operates two businesses in Salt Lake City – Laziz Foods and Laziz Kitchen – a distribution company and a restaurant specializing contemporary Middle Eastern food, according to his website.

His experience here makes him uniquely qualified for the job, aside, of course, from his position as a Utah State Senator.

“We know that the folks who are working tirelessly to grow their business and support their families are the backbone of a strong economy, and I’m thrilled to help them grow their business abroad,” Kitchen states.

He says that his goal is to strengthen the economy and support American jobs.

Before his election to public office, Kitchen won a landmark lawsuit against the State of Utah (Kitchen v Herbert, 2013), bringing marriage equality to the 10th Circuit and creating important case law that paved the way for the freedom to marry nationwide, according to his website.

Kitchen also became the youngest member of the State Senate in November of 2018 as the only opening LGBTQ member of the Legislature.