Ben Cardin actually said...

"I think we should be very, very judicious. I do not want to take a blanket rule to it, but I think the special representatives should be the exception."

"we need... a broader pool that we could utilize to meet our diplomatic missions when we have vacancies for whatever reason."

"I want to add one additional point to this diversity of assignments that we have in the State Department."

"I think that a system that puts a priority on personnel category, on tenure rather than merit, is something that seriously needs to be reexamined."