Bob Menendez

I understand that the focus in the western hemisphere today is dominated by Venezuela north.

I think it is important to note that the President of Uruguay visited Beijing in 2016.

I hope you will focus a good amount of your time on that, in getting them to be there.

I want to echo, to save time, the comments of questions that have been raised by others as it is--as it relates to getting Trinidad and Tobago to help us at the OAS on Venezuela.

I think that is a bad process.

I am extremely concerned that, when then-Secretary Tillerson decided to recommend the termination of TPS for Haitians, Salvadorans, and Hondurans, he deliberately disregarded the advice of our embassies on the ground.

The administration's comments continue to raise the political cost for any Mexican authority that wants to cooperate with us.

Such language is not only outrageous, but it runs completely contrary to the close partnership that has existed between the United States and Canada for decades.

I think virtually every member, I would think, on this dais was appalled by the President's comments towards Prime Minister Trudeau over the weekend.

I am also outraged by the President using language that we generally reserve for the most ardent adversaries and enemies to criticize Mexico and its people.

But, we can disagree without being disagreeable.

This behavior fuels an ultra-nationalist, xenophobic climate that ultimately serves Vladimir Putin's agenda to undermine democracy in Europe.

I hope that is what you are doing when you get the job.

It is my strong hope that if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I can be part particularly of that solution to that final problem, the reconstruction and rebuilding of that country.

The short-term problems of tomorrow will breed the destabilization in its neighbors caused by the massive humanitarian crisis in Venezuela.

I would urge you, when you get there, that looking at China and its engagement in the region is incredibly important.

Of course, the European Union works by unanimity, and to the extent that we have had European Union support to pursue our sanctions against Russia for their annexation of Crimea, their invasion and continuing occupation of eastern Ukraine…

But our big problem here is Turkey. At the end of the day, if Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were left to their own devices, we would probably have peace.

At a time that Turkey is becoming, from my perspective more belligerent in the region...

Members of the U.N. Human Rights Council include human rights violators such as Cuba, Venezuela, China, Saudi Arabia.

Do we have your commitment--this committee--that those who may be LGBTQ employees in your embassy or United States citizens who request assistance from your embassy will be treated with the dignity and respect that any citizen of the…

There are a lot of things in the public domain, including actions by Russia and others to try to subvert our democracy.

The clock back to the days of the 20th century, no Catholics need apply type of discrimination.

The United States continues to press the parties to fully implement their commitment to stop fighting and work in good faith for peace.

The United States is urging IGAD and AU action to impose consequences on those working against peace.