A non-binary Biden Department of Energy official has been accused of taking two pieces of female luggage, one from the Minneapolis airport in September and the other from the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
The fact that Sam Brinton, the non-binary nuclear waste administrator in the Biden administration, is being accused of the same thing twice casts doubt on his claims that the first occurrence was a mix-up.
Interest in Sam Brinton’s personal life has spiked in the wake of reports that he is wanted for grand larceny, so in this piece, we’ll find out whether or not he is married, and if so, who his husband is.
Who Is Sam Brinton?
Sam Brinton is well-known for their work in the Biden administration, but they originally gained fame as a nuclear engineer. Brinton is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition in the Office of Nuclear Energy at the Department of Energy. They are also a nuclear engineer and an LGBTQ activist.
The fact that Brinton, who identifies as they/them, is the first out transgender person in a governmental position is not lost on anyone.
“I can’t change my identity more than anyone can change intrinsic parts about themselves, but I can change my openness. And so I am given the opportunity to serve my country as I am, and that’s a really important aspect of my work — because I work on nuclear waste management, where transparency and honesty and trust building are so critical,” Brinton told Yahoo! Life.
Brinton got their bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Kansas State University, with a focus on nuclear engineering. They then went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get their master’s degrees in nuclear science and engineering.
Brinton worked for liberal and environmentalist think tanks like the Breakthrough Institute, Clean Air Task Force, and Third Way for a few years before they joined the government.
In June, the Office of Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy named them deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposal.
Brinton shared a picture on social media in which they were wearing a red jumpsuit, bright lipstick, and stilettos with Stars and Stripes on them to celebrate their new job.
Brinton’s official government bio page says that they are in charge of “ongoing research and development related to long-term disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.”
All You Need To Know About Sam Brinton’s Husband Kevin Rieck
Sam Brinton and Kevin Rieck tied the knot on January 18, 2019; they are clearly made for each other.
Kevin Rieck was the supervisor of the copy and print department at Staples, an online retailer based in Massachusetts. The company sold everything from printers and computer accessories to office chairs and desks. Previously, he had spent two years working as an “Impress Associate” at Office Max.
Following their nuptials, the couple took various vacations throughout the year, with their final stop being in Berlin. Sam posted a picture of themselves and their husband in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Instagram with the caption, “Had a genuinely incredible weekend with my husband in Berlin. Wonderful time with a gorgeous man.”
In May of 2022, the two were sighted on a date at the Washington, DC Temple as part of their ongoing travels.
Sam posted on Instagram about their husband Kevin Rieck, whom they had been married to for three years: “It’s a cute game for us but the words mean a lot. Throughout one of the hardest years of our lives, we kept the candle burning (and brighter than ever I might add). I truly think it may be forever. And I’ll keep loving him the most (or as close to the most as possible). Happy Anniversary.”
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And the following month, Kevin wrote on Facebook that he was “unapologetically in love with [his] hubby,” adding that no amount of people trying to change his mind would work. He said, “Find another outlet for your uninformed, unthinking hate; no combination of filthy words spit out your gob or carelessly smashed on a computer is going to wound me or make me think less of myself or Sam.
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And in September of 2022, when Sam was accused of stealing a tourist’s bags from the Minneapolis airport, he stayed loyal to his word.