When the Houthis started to fire at U.S. and other ships in the Red Sea, we did not have an ambassador in Djibouti.

Your confirmation gives those candidates a different level of standing.

Is there not also kind of an informal power that comes in the reverse if you do not have a confirmed nominee?

if somebody on the Senate is holding you up, and it is secret, you do not even have the ability to...

I want to thank you for your work on Remote Access Medical.

if we mattered to you, you would have someone here, right?

We need our diplomats out and development experts out in the field showing up, actively engaged, representing the United States.

Is there not also kind of an informal power that comes in the reverse if you do not have a confirmed nominee?

the Senate holds on ambassadorial nominees are harming our national interest.

When the security situation in Haiti spiraled downward, we had no ambassador in place.

And that is not just for the political appointees.

if we mattered to you, you would have someone here, right?

Holding up a nominee, particularly a career nominee for reasons unrelated to that individual's qualifications is something that needs to end.

Thanks, Chairman Sanders, thanks to the panel.

Your confirmation gives those candidates a different level of standing.

When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, we did not have an ambassador in Egypt.

When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, we did not have an ambassador in Egypt.

I'm going to be in Appalachian, Virginia tomorrow visiting the Allegheny Highlands Dental Center.