Jeanne Shaheen: “I can buy that answer. Senator Hagerty and I have worked together on the Foreign Relations Committee. I voted for you to…”

“I can buy that answer. Senator Hagerty and I have worked together on the Foreign Relations Committee. I voted for you to be an Ambassador. I thought you did a good job in that role, and I think you are doing a good job now. But the fact is that taking up floor time to deal with qualified nominees at a time when we have limited floor time, when we have a position that needs to be filled, when we have a minority position on the Foreign Relations Committee in opposition to authorizing permanently the Office of Global Women's Issues tells me it is something more than that, and I think Dr. Gupta's stalled nomination is emblematic of the intransigence on confirming President Biden's nominees for the Department of State. That obstructionism is undermining our diplomatic efforts. It is demoralizing to employees at the Department of State who have dedicated their lives to U.S. foreign policy, and I know you understand that because you headed an Embassy. You know how critical our employees are who manage our foreign policy. Eric Rubin, a former Ambassador to Bulgaria, recently spelled out what this means for U.S. diplomacy and national security, and this is the concern that we all ought to have. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record this article from Puck News. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [Sept.…”