“Our system of government and our national security depend on incentivizing the best and most qualified individuals to choose government service. This Committee has been sending the opposite message,” said Chair Cardin. “Nominations are languishing and our national security suffers as a result.”
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered opening remarks at a Committee business meeting to consider the nominations of four highly qualified nominees that have been waiting to receive a Committee vote for an average of nearly 400 days. The nominees included Margaret L. Taylor to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State; Erik John Woodhouse to be Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination, with the rank of Ambassador; Robert William Forden to be U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia; and Michael Sfraga to be Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs.
“Our system of government and our national security depend on incentivizing the best and most qualified individuals to choose government service,” said Chair Cardin. “This Committee has been sending the opposite message. Nominations are languishing and our national security suffers as a result. I’m pleased that we’re able to start today and move forward on four, but we need to conduct business meetings to deal with those that are ready for voting.”
Chair Cardin’s remarks, as delivered, are below.
Today we are considering four nominations on the agenda. After a very long wait period – almost 400 days – I am pleased that we are finally voting on these nominees. They are superb. Each one of the four under consideration are highly qualified. They’re the type of people we need representing us in the field.
Margaret Taylor is one of the most qualified individuals ever nominated to be Legal Adviser. She has been the General Counsel of USAID for almost three years, served as a career attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser for ten years, and served as a distinguished member of the staff here on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She has the support of all the living former Legal Advisers, from the Reagan administration to the Trump administration who’ve written to Senator Risch and me strongly endorsing her qualifications and speedy confirmation.
While there will always be certain disagreements between the Committee and the State Department, I can tell you two things with absolute confidence: Ms. Taylor will faithfully implement the law, and she will deal with the Committee with respect and with a willingness to work with us to find productive solutions to difficult problems.
Mr. Woodhouse is superbly qualified to serve as Sanctions Coordinator, having worked on and implemented sanctions up close from multiple angles, at the Treasury Department, as an attorney in private practice, and in his current position as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sanctions. His background and his record in his current position make him the perfect candidate to be the Sanctions Coordinator – an office that Senator Risch had a strong hand in creating.
Mr. Forden is a career diplomat who has worked for decades at the State Department on matters related to Asia. His experience and expertise will be critical to advancing U.S. interests in Cambodia, including our efforts to combat China’s malign influence in the region. I was not surprised to get the resounding endorsement from the former Ambassador Branstad to China during the Trump Administration, under which Mr. Forden served as Deputy Chief of Mission.
Finally, there’s Mr. Sfraga. He’s one of the world’s foremost experts on the Arctic, its environment, its resources, its people, its nations – making him an excellent choice to be Ambassador-at-Large for the Arctic Affairs. He enjoys the strong support from the Co-Chairs of the Arctic Caucus, Senators Murkowski and King, as well as Senator Sullivan.
Our system of government and our national security depend on incentivizing the best and most qualified individuals to choose government service. This Committee has been sending the opposite message. Nominations are languishing and our national security suffers as a result.
So let me just give you the numbers. We currently have pending in this committee 33 nominees from the State Department – 20 of which are ambassadors. 26 are awaiting a business meeting. It means they’ve already completed their hearings, and all the paperwork is in.
I’m pleased that we’re able to start today and move forward on four, but we need to conduct business meetings to deal with those that are ready for voting. Senator Risch and I have been working on that. We have been exchanging lists. I’m very hopeful that our next business meeting will be able to consider a significant number of nominees for recommendation to the floor. It’s our responsibility to vote on these nominees, and I hope that we’ll have the cooperation to schedule that meeting as soon as we get back from this pending recess.
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