Political Quotes

“Mr. President, fellow Senators, I rise today in opposition to the nomination of Michael Sfraga to be Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs, not because I don't think we need an ambassador--we do--and not because I don't think Mr. Sfraga has the knowledge and the expertise to do this--I think he does--and not because he is not a nice person--I have met him. He is very engaging. I think he is a nice person, generally. The Arctic is a critically important region under threat from increasing Russian and Chinese activity. An Arctic Ambassador should help advance U.S. leadership, but this person must demonstrate experience and sound judgment, not just in science but also in matters of national security. Dr. Sfraga is not qualified in that regard as far as I am concerned. In fact, I believe he makes the situation worse. Based on his evasiveness during his vetting by the Foreign Relations Committee, I believe Dr. Sfraga could pose a counterintelligence and foreign malign influence threat to our Nation. I don't say that lightly. Dr. Sfraga was asked repeatedly to provide his foreign travel, his foreign contacts, and his appearances on panels to the vetting personnel, and he failed to be open and transparent. He updated his file four times--maybe a new record--each time only after being confronted with additional information he tried to conceal. For instance, while at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr.…”