The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is at a standstill, with no end in sight to a partisan dispute that’s putting Democrats in a bind.
One of the Senate’s most storied committees hasn’t been able to take up vital nominations and legislation for nearly four months amid a GOP effort to force the Democratic-controlled panel to consider an Israel-related measure.
We first told you in June about the committee’s dysfunctional state and the reasons for it. It stems from Republicans’ demand that the panel vote on House GOP-drafted legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court. Senate Democrats want to pursue a different bill. The ICC’s top prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for top Israeli officials over the war in Gaza with Hamas.
Since then, the Foreign Relations Committee’s paralysis has only worsened, with nominees for critical ambassadorships piling up, unable to be sent to the Senate floor for confirmation. Democrats say this is directly harming U.S. national security in areas of the world where China is prioritizing its diplomatic engagement.
The impact: Around a dozen nominees — mostly for career ambassadorships — have been ready for formal approval in the committee, some for several months. An additional 24 nominees whose vetting files have been completed are awaiting their confirmation hearings, although some haven’t met yet with committee staff, the final step before a hearing.
That’s in addition to the dozen-plus pieces of legislation that are stalled inside the committee. The list includes bills that are GOP and Democratic priorities alike.
“There comes a point in time you’ve got to vote, you’ve got to bring [the nominations] up. And if you’re trying to hold them for leverage, I don’t want any part of that,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told us.
What the leadership thinks: The logjam started earlier this summer when House Republican leaders pushed through an ICC sanctions bill, garnering dozens of House Democratic votes in the process. This prompted Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to vow to pursue a bipartisan path in the Senate.
But Sen. Jim Risch (Idaho), the Foreign Relations Committee’s top Republican, demanded that the panel take up the House bill or similar legislation. As we first reported, Risch’s staff told Cardin’s team that Republicans won’t consent to a committee-wide business meeting otherwise.
This is a big deal because the Foreign Relations Committee operates on comity, which means markups aren’t scheduled until both sides agree on the agenda.
Cardin said he’s hopeful that the panel will be able to convene for a business meeting when senators return from recess in September, but that’s far from guaranteed.
“Ben is trying to get this done in a bipartisan way,” Schumer told us in a recent interview. “He’s willing to compromise. I want to get something done on ICC. I’ve hated the ICC forever because I’ve always thought they’re vehemently anti-Israel.”
We asked Schumer if it’s worth putting the House-passed ICC sanctions bill on the next business meeting agenda if only to allow nominations to get through. Schumer wouldn’t commit either way.
“I’ve never seen this before, these right-wing people hold up nominations and tie the government’s hands in knots because they don’t exactly get their way,” Schumer said.
Even though the House GOP bill won bipartisan support, the Biden administration opposes it and most Hill Democrats believe it goes too far in undercutting the ICC. They argue it would force the United States to sanction allies who are party to the ICC. Like Israel, the United States isn’t a signatory to the international agreement behind the ICC.
For his part, Schumer has had to deal with nomination blockades more than any other majority leader in modern history. This latest GOP challenge is slightly more tame in terms of the raw numbers, but it has had the added effect of paralyzing one of the Senate’s oldest committees.
“China continues to prioritize their diplomatic engagement, their ambassadors, around the world,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who’s primed to take over as the panel’s top Democrat in the next Congress. “And yet, we can’t get our ambassadors approved — even the career ambassadors.”
Cardin’s posture: Cardin, who’s retiring at the end of this Congress, is an old-school pol who’s loath to get himself involved in partisan spats. But his anger here is palpable.
“I don’t talk publicly about our discussions. I know that’s not always true on the other side, I recognize that,” Cardin said. “I can assure you that we have moved to accommodate Sen. Risch in markups so that he could have votes on issues he cares about having votes on.”
More from Cardin:
— Andrew Desiderio
