remind us, who he is, where he comes from, how much experience as far as public servant? >> reporter: that's the question today. who is gordon sondland how did he get the post? virtually no foreign policy experience. served on a few state commissions but the way he puts it in his testimony today is it's his unique business experience as founder of a hotel chain that made him president trump's pick to be ambassador to the eu, but in all actuality it may have been his status as the go-to bunglering for the republican party in the pacific northwest that cemented this ambassadorship. interestingly, he initially supported jeb bush and marco rubio and eventually pivoted to president trump and to earn his favor one source tells us he donated $1 million to trump's inaugural campaign. once confirmed as u.s. ambassador, sources tell us that he was viewed as a problem. first confirmed in july 2018. instead of going through secretary of state mike pompeo