Republican Senators Undermining National Security by Delaying Confirmation of State Department Nominees, Says Secretary of State Blinken
In a recent statement, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken urged the Senate to quickly confirm over three dozen State Department nominees. He criticized Republican senators for employing delaying tactics on unrelated issues, which he claimed were undermining national security.
The Biden administration has expressed growing concern over Republican moves to block nominees across various government departments, including the Defense Department and the Justice Department.
According to Blinken, 38 presidential nominees for State Department positions have completed hearings and received approval from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations but are being denied confirmation votes by the full Senate. Among them are ambassadors to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Jordan, as well as the State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, all crucial positions given the United States’ interests in these regions.
Senate Republicans have utilized their parliamentary powers to stall the confirmation process for broad categories of nominees, a practice that was once deemed unacceptable but has become increasingly common.
Last month, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky announced that he would hold up Senate action on all State Department nominees until the Biden administration provided documents relating to the origins of the coronavirus, which he believes leaked from a Chinese laboratory. Other Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and J.D. Vance of Ohio, have also blocked nominees for different reasons.
During a State Department press briefing, Blinken emphasized that these delays were undermining national security. He highlighted that the majority of stalled nominees are career diplomats, with over a third awaiting votes for a year or more. Blinken added that no one has questioned the qualifications of the diplomats and that they are being blocked for leverage on unrelated issues. He also mentioned that stand-ins for empty ambassador posts lack the same access and influence as ambassadors in foreign capitals.
A Senate Democratic aide, speaking anonymously, stated that when considering envoys to various organizations like the World Health Organization and the International Monetary Fund, the number of blocked nominees who have been cleared by the Foreign Relations Committee is even higher at 50. The aide emphasized that these vacancies put the United States at a disadvantage in its competition with China, as Beijing has ambassadors in numerous foreign capitals where the United States lacks representation.
Secretary Blinken’s effort to shed light on the issue coincides with Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama blocking promotions for hundreds of high-ranking military officials. Tuberville’s actions are in protest of Pentagon policies providing U.S. service members access to abortions. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, described Tuberville’s holds as an “attack on our national security.” She called on Republican senators to speak out in support of national security and military families.
J.D. Vance, another Republican senator, recently announced that he would block all of President Biden’s Justice Department nominees following the department’s indictment of former President Donald J. Trump. Vance has also opposed the nomination of Stephanie Sanders Sullivan as Mr. Biden’s representative to the African Union due to her involvement in what he called a “foreign policy of hectoring, moralizing, and lecturing” during her time as a diplomat in the Obama administration.
There are also other diplomatic nominees awaiting votes, including ambassadorial picks for Oman, Georgia, and Djibouti. These posts are significant in navigating relations with Iran, countering authoritarianism in Eastern Europe, and managing strategic interests in East Africa, respectively.
Blinken stressed that long confirmation delays discourage talented diplomats from accepting posts requiring confirmation due to the uncertainty surrounding their appointments. The State Department has faced significant delays in confirming nominees since the start of the Biden administration. In 2021, Senator Cruz placed holds on numerous key nominees to protest President Biden’s decision to waive sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany. However, Cruz now has fewer holds in place.