The appointment of Sam Brownback to serve as ambassador at-large for international religious freedom will bring a fitting end to Brownback’s tumultuous six-and-a-half year run as Kansas’ governor.

It is simply hard to imagine Brownback trying to lead the state through another legislative session given what transpired during the recently completed session, when a Legislature dominated by his own party gutted Brownback’s grand economic experiment and, in effect, his governorship.

At the heart of that experiment were cuts in state income taxes that Brownback pushed through the Legislature during his first term. Brownback himself termed the policies a state-level experiment that would demonstrate the benefits of Reagan-era tax-cutting theory. Kansas even hired Reagan economist Arthur Laffer to provide advice and promote the results.

Brownback said the cuts — especially the so-called LLC loophole, which eliminated state taxes on income for about 300,000 independently owned businesses in Kansas — would foster growth as small-business owners invested their tax savings in job and wage growth. With more money in their pockets, Kansans would increase retail spending and the state would be a shining example for others to follow.

But that vision never took hold. Throughout Brownback’s tenure, Kansas has lagged behind the rest of the country in nearly every key economic statistic, including job and wage growth. Meanwhile, the state’s fiscal woes grew ever more perilous as revenues fell short of projections month after month, forcing deeper and deeper cuts in state spending.

Kansas entered the 2017 session facing a billion-dollar deficit, a lagging economy and the nation’s most unpopular governor. Yet, Brownback dug in. Rather than work with legislator on a tax compromise, the governor advocated a short-term budget fix that included selling state assets, borrowing from the state transportation fund and delaying pension payments. He reiterated his belief that economic growth was on the horizon.

But facing an increasingly angry electorate, state legislators weren’t willing to go along. Late in the session, lawmakers passed a bipartisan budget bill repealing Brownback’s tax policies. And when the governor vetoed the bill, legislators — for the first time in Brownback’s tenure — voted to override the veto.

For all practical purposes, Brownback’s ability to be an effective governor ended with the override vote. His refusal to pivot — even as the state veered ever closer to fiscal disaster and voters and lawmakers from both parties abandoned him — sealed the governor’s fate.

Brownback is clearly principled and guided by strong beliefs. He is a skilled politician who knows how to connect with Kansas voters as his successful runs for U.S. House, U.S. Senate and governor demonstrate. During his first term as governor, he built and led a conservative coalition that brought sweeping change to the state, and the state’s voters rewarded him for it with re-election in 2014. But Brownback ran out of time to deliver on his economic promise during his second term.

As ambassador at-large, Brownback will head the Office of International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. He said Wednesday he was honored to serve such an important cause, and given his strong faith, he appears well suited for the role.

Brownback still must be confirmed as ambassador, but hopefully that will happen quickly. After all, it’s in the best interest of the governor, the administration and the people of Kansas.