Political Quotes

“I regret that I come to the floor to announce my opposition to one of President Trump's political nominees, Ms. Lynda Blanchard. To be honest, I cannot even believe that we are considering her nomination on the floor of the Senate. U.S. Ambassadors are supposed to represent the best of America to nations around the world, and I challenge my colleagues, Republican and Democrat alike, to look at this nominee's record and tell me with a straight face that Lynda Blanchard should represent the United States anywhere. Look, I have made a good-faith effort to work with this administration to confirm a number of well-qualified individuals to State Department positions that are vital to advancing America's interests around the world. I don't think anyone can deny that. But there are some nominees who just raise too many red flags, and I raised this to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a letter I sent in June of 2018, shortly after his confirmation. I explained that a number of nominees before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had demonstrated histories of questionable temperament and judgement, of questionable conduct, of #MeToo issues, just to mention a few, and I expressed my hope that we could work together to find qualified nominees to the U.S. Department of State. I am disappointed that that effort went unheeded. Ms. Blanchard has a history of using Facebook as a platform to post incendiary, false articles and disturbing statements.…”