Business Meeting

For this hearing, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will follow guidelines developed in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician (OAP), the Senate Sergeant at Arms, and the Senate Rules Committee to protect the health of members,witnesses, staff, and the public. This includes maintaining six-foot social distance spacing in the hearing room.

Accordingly, press seating is limited. All media must RSVP to your respective gallery to reserve a seat, and only Hill-credentialed media will be permitted to attend. 

Per CDC guidelines, press should wear a mask. Masks and other PPE, as well as sanitation supplies, will be available at the entrance to the hearing room.  

Pursuant to guidance from the CDC and OAP, Senate office buildings are currently not open to the public other than official business visitors and credentialed press at this time. Accordingly, other in-person visitors cannot be accommodated at this hearing.

NOMINATIONS: 

1. Mr. Erik Paul Bethel, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Panama.

2. Mr. Edward A. Burrier, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation.

3. Lieutenant General Keith W. Dayton, United States Army, Retired, of Washington, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Ukraine.

4. Mr. William A. Douglass, of Florida, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

5. Ms. Julie D. Fisher, of Tennessee, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Belarus.

6. Ms. Melanie Harris Higgins, of Georgia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Burundi.

7. Ms. Jeanne Marie Maloney, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Eswatini.

8. Mr. Michael A. McCarthy, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Liberia.

9. Mr. Jonathan Pratt, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Djibouti.

10. The Honorable Manisha Singh, of Florida, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, with the rank of Ambassador.

11. Mr. James Broward Story, of South Carolina, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

12. Ms. Barbera Hale Thornhill, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Singapore.

13. Mr. Thomas Laszlo Vajda, of Arizona, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Union of Burma.

14. The Honorable Kenneth R. Weinstein, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Japan.

15. Mr. Alex Nelson Wong, of New Jersey, to be Alternate Representative of the United States of America for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations with the rank of Ambassador, and to be an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as Alternate Representative of the United States of America for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations.