The US Senate voted to confirm almost 30 ambassadors of the United States to different countries in a hasty manner, as senators rushed to go on holiday.
Meanwhile, three Democrat senators voted against Rahm Emanuel, the former official of the Obama administration, for Japan’s ambassador. However, he was later confirmed, due to eight Republicans siding with Democrats.
Senate confirmed big slate of US ambassadors to different countries
Among confirmed diplomats nominees included the ambassadors to Japan, Somalia, Vietnam, and Spain. Due to the long deadlock, the vote came after the Senate Majority Leader reached a deal with Senator Ted Cruz to hold a vote on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline before January 15, 2022.
The lengthy process continued overnight, with Democrats accusing Republicans of intentionally creating roadblocks that could have been avoided.
While Democrats had enough numbers to confirm the ambassadors, they assert the GOP-induced debate on most of the matter could have easily been averted by allocating the time of discussion to other matters.
#Dallas lawyer #MarcStanley confirmed as US ambassador to #Argentina; Stanley chaired Lawyers for Biden in 2020 election@dallasnews #Texas
-Southern politics are on the menu at ChickenFriedPolitics.com-https://t.co/sEemWwx2U4— ChickenFriedPolitics (@ChkFriPolitics) December 18, 2021
Ted Cruz relied on rare powers given to Senate minority members, as he tied the vote with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline sanctions vote on Russia.
While the Biden administration has posed against the project, it is reluctant to impose sanctions on Russia in its bid of not deteriorating relations with its most prominent European ally, i.e., Germany.
The criticism against the gas pipeline is bipartisan, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle believing it will increase Germany’s reliance on Russia’s natural resources; however, only Republicans are bold enough to take practical measures.
Three Democrats opposed Rahm Emanuel’s confirmation to Japan ambassador
Senate Democrats were not moved until earlier this week when Schumer claimed Cruz must lift the hold on ambassadors, two administrations’ officials, and USAID. Thus, Cruz stated this could be a middle ground solution.
While Democrats were forced to confirm ambassadors, they were not celebrating it. For instance, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, noted there was nothing to celebrate regarding the confirmed ambassadors.
Likewise, Menendez blamed Republicans for stopping the confirmation process, noting it deprived Biden of getting a national security team which weakened America.
BREAKING: #Senate tonight confirms former Chicago Mayor Rahm #Emanuel to serve as US Ambassador to #Japan.
VOTE to confirm Emanuel is 48-21.
Action is part of larger deal struck tonight to clear long list of stalled US ambassadors before adjournment.
— Nancy Ognanovich (@NOgnanovich) December 18, 2021
However, Democrats’ criticism made little sense to Republicans, as GOP Senator Roy Blunt added that Democrats navigated the same waters during Trump’s era, as they tried to stop Republicans from confirming Trump’s nominees back then.
Thus, Blunt said Schumer had nothing to clean his hands with. Meanwhile, despite the fact that Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, and Ed Markey voted against Rahm Emanuel’s confirmation to Japan’s ambassador, eight Republicans voted with Democrats to confirm his candidacy.
The middle of the night season ended with 48-21 votes in Democrats’ favor, with many Republicans not participating in the vote at all.
