![]() ![]() Cruz held dozens of State Department nominations over a dispute with the Biden administration on its refusal to sanction certain entities involved in a controversial Russian gas pipeline project in Europe. State Department officials characterized the hold as unprecedented and damaging to the institution. Other nominees were held up for longer, some over controversial past public comments and questions over their qualifications.ĭemocrats blamed the Biden-era backlog on Republican intransigence-including, most notably, a sweeping, monthslong blockade on dozens of State Department nominees from Republican Sen. Democrats held up Trump’s nominee for the DRL assistant secretary post, Robert Destro, for 276 days, over concerns about Trump’s policies on global human rights issues. Republican congressional aides also pointed to examples of Democrats blocking some of Trump’s State Department nominees for extended periods of time. (More than a year into office, Biden has yet to nominate an ambassador to Ukraine, South Korea, or over 30 other ambassador posts, for example.) “Failure to tap nominees to fill these posts sends the wrong message that diplomacy with these countries is not that important,” Risch wrote. He said the president has been too slow to issue nominations for key State Department posts, including ambassador posts. In a recent op-ed for Foreign Policy, Risch pinned the blame for delayed confirmations on Biden himself. The nominee for special envoy for countering antisemitism, Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt, faced delays in her confirmation process due to her past tweets criticizing Republican lawmakers, but she now has a Senate hearing scheduled for Feb. Agency for International Development post. Other nominations for key foreign-policy posts that are stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Republican lawmakers include Barbara Leaf, Biden’s nominee to be the State Department’s top Middle East envoy, and Tamara Cofman Wittes, Biden’s nominee to a senior U.S. ![]() “I’ve never seen it this bad,” said one State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. President Donald Trump, that grew to 100 days. Bush’s administration was 48 days, according to a recent study by the Partnership for Public Service. The average time it took the Senate to confirm political appointees during former U.S. Senators on both sides of the aisle have lamented the glacial pace of approving nominees as both Republicans and Democrats occupy the White House-a trend that has gotten worse over time. Margon’s stalled nomination is reflective of a broader breakdown in the Senate confirmation process, the officials and aides said. officials and congressional aides said, as the administration continues to back her appointment while the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Idaho Sen. Her nomination now languishes with no end in sight, multiple U.S. Since that hearing four months ago, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee overseeing her nomination has yet to move forward on a vote. Sarah Margon-nominee to be assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor (DRL)-faced intense scrutiny from a top Republican lawmaker over several of her past tweets on Israel, leading to heated exchanges between the two during her nomination hearing last September. ![]() ![]() President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the top State Department human rights envoy is stuck in limbo, reaching an impasse in the Senate confirmation process that has left a key administration post overseeing one of the president’s top foreign-policy priorities unfilled for months. ![]()
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