Chair Cardin Opening Remarks at Nominations Hearing

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered opening remarks at the nominations hearing for Ambassador Julie Smith, to be an Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Stephanie Hallett, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Kingdom of Bahrain; Douglas Jones, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Bosnia and Herzegovina; Michael Heath, of California, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Malawi; and Mary Daschbach, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Togolese Republic.

WATCH THE CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS HERE

A copy of the Chair’s remarks, as delivered, have been provided below.

This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order. I first want to welcome our nominees and thank them for their willingness to serve our nation. You’ve made incredible sacrifices and we thank you for your continued interest in serving our county, and we thank your families because we know you can’t do this without the support of your families.

This is our first Committee hearing since the return from the August recess. A lot of us had a chance to travel during the August recess. I had a chance to meet with President Zelensky at the Ambrosetti Conference in Italy, along with Senator Marshall and Senator Graham. We had a chance to talk to him directly about the current challenges in Ukraine.

I must tell you, it is heartbreaking to see what Mr. Putin is doing in regards to the attacks against civilian populations and the infrastructure of Ukraine. So, I’ve issued a statement today that says, in light of the recent Russian actions, the time has come to further loosen restrictions on Ukrainian’s use of American provided weapons, giving the Ukrainian Armed Forces greater flexibility against military targets, which will degrade Russia’s ability to attack the Ukrainian people. I hope that the United States will give these permissions without delay. It’s time to allow Ukraine to be able to defend itself against these air attacks in a more effective way, and the United States needs to be the leader in that regard.

We also had a chance to travel to Brussels to meet with our NATO Secretary General, who sends his best to Ambassador Smith. It was a great visit with Secretary Stoltenberg. He was very optimistic with the progress that we’ve made and unity among the NATO partners, particularly as it relates to supporting for Ukraine. NATO is taking a larger and larger role in that regard, and I think that’s in large measure thanks to the work of Ambassador Smith. The Washington Summit was a great success, the unity there for Ukraine, and the movement toward recognizing the threat of China. It was a good visit, and we look forward to advancing the support for Ukraine and the strength of NATO.

I see that Senator Helmy has joined us and I wanted to welcome him, officially, to our committee. Senator Helmy, you are fortunate, not only to be in the United States Senate, but to serve in this Committee. We hope you feel that way during the next couple months, but we know that you’re ready to get started­. You come with a great deal of experience, being the former Chief of Staff for Governor Murphy of New Jersey. You’re a product of New Jersey, which I think is very valuable for our Committee. You served as a staff person for Senator Lautenberg; that gets you very high marks around here, and then you served on the Staff of Senator Booker. We’ll see whether that gets you high marks or not. We’ll see as we go through this. We thank you for your willingness to serve and we look forward to working with you on this Committee.

Today the world faces multiple, various serious world crises. Some of these conflicts are in the headlines like the war in Ukraine or the war in Gaza. Others get less attention, like Venezuela, Burma, and Sudan. To advance American interests and values and confront these challenges, we must fill one of our most important diplomatic posts—the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. 

Ambassador Smith, if confirmed, you will lead the State Department’s regional and bilateral policy making across eight bureaus. So I look forward to hearing from you about what you will do to advance a foreign policy agenda centered on American values. How will you work to protect U.S. citizens and U.S. interests, defend human rights, fight corruption, and strengthen democracies around the world?

This matters in standing up to autocrats who mock our values, our interests in the international community, and our democratic processes. And it matters to our Allies, as you know from your work with NATO. Our best partners are the democracies of the world.

If confirmed, you will play a key role leading our diplomatic efforts with our allies and partners—not only to address conflicts that touch millions of lives around the world, but to seize opportunities to advance our interests and values globally. Senator Shaheen will give a more full introduction to you prior to your testimony.

Ms. Hallett, if confirmed, you will be our next Ambassador to Bahrain. As host to the Fifth Fleet and the forward element of the Navy’s Central Command, Bahrain is on the forefront of our common defense against Iranian aggression. Bahrain has been a stalwart partner in peace, and in a region mired in challenges, Bahrain continues to make progress in areas that reflect our shared interests, like in the recent prisoner release.

Ms. Hallett, I hope you will speak about how you would continue to build on this important relationship, deepening our cooperation and progress across all our shared interests, including continuing to enhance respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Ms. Daschbach, if confirmed, you will be taking over our mission in Togo as it faces a profound struggle with political freedoms. A constitutional change enacted earlier this year will allow Togo's current head of state to remain in power indefinitely. This decline in democratic rights comes at the same time that the country faces attacks from militant groups in the Sahel. I hope you will discuss how the United States should best go about supporting counterterrorism efforts while at the same time continuing to push for respect for fundamental freedoms.

Mr. Heath, if confirmed, you will be our Ambassador to Malawi, which is scheduled to hold presidential elections next year. I look forward to hearing from you about how the United States can support a credible contest, and how we plan to help the people of that country fight pervasive corruption.

Mr. Jones, I want to express appreciation for the critical role you played for more than a year to prepare for the NATO summit. I’d like to hear how you think we can support Bosnia’s fragile governing institutions in the face of efforts by bad actors inside and outside the country to impede progress, if you are confirmed to be the Ambassador there.

It’s been now twenty years and we are still working under the same Dayton Accords, which was a temporary structure for the sharing of power in the country. How can we move forward with the Constitutional reforms that are going to be necessary if Bosnia is truly going to be an independent, effective country? We should not allow Russian-backed media or politicians to the undermine Bosnia’s efforts to deepen ties and integrate with Europe.

Before turning to Senator Risch, let me acknowledge that today marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that forever changed our country. I still remember that day vividly, as I am sure of you do as well. While it has been more than two decades since that terrible morning, the pain of that day remains raw for many Americans. Around this very time 23 years ago, the first World Trade Center tower collapsed, and Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, due to the heroism of those Americans. Today and every day, we should honor those Americans and the lives of those that were lost that day.

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