Washington, DC – Foreign Policy for America celebrates last week’s Senate confirmations of 43 State Department and USAID nominations. Every confirmation offers the opportunity to strengthen our national security and support the work of America’s diplomats as they represent the United States in an increasingly complex global environment.
Foreign Policy for America has been sounding the alarm over the dozens of State Department and USAID nominations being held up in the U.S. Senate due to blanket holds by Senators Cruz and Hawley. These vacancies represent a clear threat to U.S. national security and America’s ability to lead on the world stage. FP4A is grateful to Senator Schumer for ensuring that late last week and over the weekend the Senate held a marathon vote session to overcome over a dozen legislative holds and confirm many qualified nominees, bringing the total number of nominees confirmed since FP4A raised the alarm to fifty-five.
The votes last week represent an important step in strengthening America’s diplomatic and national security capacity and ensuring America’s diplomats have the resources and leadership they need, but there are still dozens of qualified nominees awaiting votes in the Senate. FP4A will continue to push the Senate to perform its constitutional duty to confirm the President’s nominees in a timely manner and reject the partisan politics that have slowed this process to a crawl and put America’s national security at risk.
“Radical Republican obstruction has crippled the State Department at a time when this country faces unprecedented international challenges. It’s a gift to our adversaries,” said Foreign Policy for America Executive Director Andrew Albertson. “We applaud Majority Leader Schumer for his leadership in addressing this national security crisis, but that work is not over. Dozens of critical positions remain unfilled. If Senator Cruz, Senator Hawley, and others continue to block qualified State Department nominees from receiving confirmation votes, we urge Senate leadership to consider rule changes in the new year to allow the Senate to once again perform its functions as our country’s founders intended.”
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