GOP senators: Obama nominee makes US ‘less safe’

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) slammed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for scheduling a vote on President Obama’s nominee to lead arms control and international security at the State Department.

“President Obama appears to have decided to subvert the Senate in his effort to make dangerous reductions to our nuclear stockpile in an effort to burnish his legacy,” the senators said Monday. “We will continue to raise these issues on every relevant nominee and in every setting possible because such policies are dangerous and will make Americans less safe.”

{mosads}The Senate is expected to vote to on the nomination of Rose Gottemoeller to be undersecretary of State for arms control and international security on Thursday.

Cornyn, Risch and Rubio said they oppose Gottemoeller because of the administration’s lackadaisical approach with the U.S. and Russian agreement to reduce nuclear weapons stockpiles.

“We have repeatedly made clear to the Obama administration our concerns about Ms. Gottemoeller’s role in failing to quickly pursue evidence of Russia’s compliance with multiple arms control agreements and her delay in making the Senate aware of these violations,” the senators said. “We wanted assurances that these issues were being treated seriously at the highest levels of this administration, and have received none.”

The lawmakers said they also want assurances the White House would not make any more nuclear arms deals without passing a treaty through Congress.

“These were simple requests,” Cornyn, Risch and Rubio said. “Yet the Obama administration, even as evidence of Russian noncompliance with arms control agreements grows and Moscow’s bullying of Ukraine and U.S. allies increases, still clings to its ‘reset’ with Russia.”

Relationships with Russia have strained significantly as Russian President Vladimir Putin has militarily intervened in Ukraine. Putin has also been helping Syrian President Bashar Assad by selling him arms to fight rebels trying to overthrow his regime.