Jeanne Shaheen, NH
“I want the Senate to approve 10 career ambassador nominees right now. More than 100 of our ambassador jobs around the world are empty, while China has 170 ambassadors in place. We need these leaders in other countries to keep America safe and to compete with China.”
“Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening to try to discharge 10 career ambassadorial nominees from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In the 21 months the Trump administration has been charged with America’s national security, we have seen a complete hallowing out of our diplomatic service. Even with wars in the Middle East, in Sudan, Ethiopia, in Ukraine, and a growing Ebola crisis and strikes against United States bases and diplomatic facilities, over 100 diplomatic posts remain empty. Meanwhile, China--who I think almost everybody in this Chamber would acknowledge is the United States’ biggest competitor--has 170 Ambassadors in posts around the world. Despite continued commitments from Secretary Rubio to send more career Ambassadors to the Senate for consideration, only 13 career Ambassadors have been confirmed under this administration. We need Ambassadors on the ground to keep Americans safe, to be held accountable by the Senate when things go wrong. We have a crisis of U.S. leadership across the world. Not only has the President failed to nominate career experts to represent Americans, but he has gone a step further: He has arbitrarily recalled more than 30 career Ambassadors from countries across Africa, from the Middle East, from the Pacific, from the Western Hemisphere. These are all regions where the PRC is engaging our partners as we retreat. We need American leadership overseas because competition with China doesn’t just happen in the Indo-Pacific, and it doesn’t just happen here at home, and it doesn’t just happen in Africa or Latin America; it happens in every corner of the globe. Ensuring American businesses can compete for market access, offering alternatives to China’s debt-trap diplomacy tactics, shoring up our alliances, and attracting international talent are why we need Ambassadors to represent the United States on the ground across the globe. Further, we know that China and Iran are working together to target American citizens and American infrastructure in the Middle East. If the Trump administration is serious about confronting China, we cannot let the Chinese write the future of foreign policy. This would be a dereliction of duty. We don’t know where the next crisis point may be, and without American leadership on the ground, we risk being caught flatfooted. Now that these posters are up, I want to point out that, as I was talking about, we have 100 vacancies across the world. What we see here is where the United States has not filled ambassadorial posts. All this white, we don’t have Ambassadors in those places. Look at China. They have Ambassadors in all those places. This isn’t a partisan issue. When our allies and adversaries alike see the United States represented abroad, we need to speak with one voice. Career Ambassadors are nonpartisan public servants, often with decades of experience in the regions where they serve. So today, I am asking for unanimous consent to discharge from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the nominations of 10 career ambassadorial nominees, and I am here to urge the Trump administration to take seriously our national security agenda. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of PN1255-12, Peter Lord, Ambassador to Benin; PN1255-9, Keith Heffern, Ambassador to Gabon; PN1022-36, Daniel Travis, Ambassador to Sierra Leone; PN1022-39, Henry Wooster, Ambassador to Kenya; PN1201-4, Joshua Harris, Ambassador to Malaysia; PN1255-15, Nutan Patel, Ambassador to Cabo Verde; PN1255-7, Steven Gillen, Ambassador to Kyrgyz Republic; PN1255-8, Charles Goodman, Ambassador to Togo; PN1255-13, John McIntyre, Ambassador to Malawi; and PN1255-6, Natasha Franceschi, Ambassador to Nicaragua; and that the Senate proceed to their en bloc consideration and vote without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and the President be immediately notified of the Senate’s action. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the nominations en bloc.”
Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening to try to discharge 10 career ambassadorial nominees from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In the 21 months the Trump administration has been charged with America’s national security, we have seen a complete hallowing out of our diplomatic service. Even with wars in the Middle East, in Sudan, Ethiopia, in Ukraine, and a growing Ebola crisis and strikes against United States bases and diplomatic facilities, over 100 diplomatic posts remain empty. Meanwhile, China--who I think almost everybody in this Chamber would acknowledge is the United States’ biggest competitor--has 170 Ambassadors in posts around the world. Despite continued commitments from Secretary Rubio to send more career Ambassadors to the Senate for consideration, only 13 career Ambassadors have been confirmed under this administration. We need Ambassadors on the ground to keep Americans safe, to be held accountable by the Senate when things go wrong. We have a crisis of U.S. leadership across the world. Not only has the President failed to nominate career experts to represent Americans, but he has gone a step further: He has arbitrarily recalled more than 30 career Ambassadors from countries across Africa, from the Middle East, from the Pacific, from the Western Hemisphere. These are all regions where the PRC is engaging our partners as we retreat. We need American leadership overseas because competition with China doesn’t just happen in the Indo-Pacific, and it doesn’t just happen here at home, and it doesn’t just happen in Africa or Latin America; it happens in every corner of the globe. Ensuring American businesses can compete for market access, offering alternatives to China’s debt-trap diplomacy tactics, shoring up our alliances, and attracting international talent are why we need Ambassadors to represent the United States on the ground across the globe. Further, we know that China and Iran are working together to target American citizens and American infrastructure in the Middle East. If the Trump administration is serious about confronting China, we cannot let the Chinese write the future of foreign policy. This would be a dereliction of duty. We don’t know where the next crisis point may be, and without American leadership on the ground, we risk being caught flatfooted. Now that these posters are up, I want to point out that, as I was talking about, we have 100 vacancies across the world. What we see here is where the United States has not filled ambassadorial posts. All this white, we don’t have Ambassadors in those places. Look at China. They have Ambassadors in all those places. This isn’t a partisan issue. When our allies and adversaries alike see the United States represented abroad, we need to speak with one voice. Career Ambassadors are nonpartisan public servants, often with decades of experience in the regions where they serve. So today, I am asking for unanimous consent to discharge from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the nominations of 10 career ambassadorial nominees, and I am here to urge the Trump administration to take seriously our national security agenda. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration of PN1255-12, Peter Lord, Ambassador to Benin; PN1255-9, Keith Heffern, Ambassador to Gabon; PN1022-36, Daniel Travis, Ambassador to Sierra Leone; PN1022-39, Henry Wooster, Ambassador to Kenya; PN1201-4, Joshua Harris, Ambassador to Malaysia; PN1255-15, Nutan Patel, Ambassador to Cabo Verde; PN1255-7, Steven Gillen, Ambassador to Kyrgyz Republic; PN1255-8, Charles Goodman, Ambassador to Togo; PN1255-13, John McIntyre, Ambassador to Malawi; and PN1255-6, Natasha Franceschi, Ambassador to Nicaragua; and that the Senate proceed to their en bloc consideration and vote without intervening action or debate; that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate and the President be immediately notified of the Senate’s action. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the nominations en bloc.