Top GOP senator blocking Trump’s pick for Turkey ambassador
In statements included in the Congressional Record, Grassley placed a hold on David Satterfield’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to Turkey, citing his role in trying to negotiate changes to the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, a bill sponsored by the Iowa Republican.
{mosads}Grassley said the State Department did not raise concerns about the legislation before it passed. He added that Satterfield, in leading the department’s negotiations, won’t support changes that include language to “tangibly benefit victims.”
The Washington Post reported in January, shortly before the law went into effect, that the State Department and Trump administration officials were trying to negotiate changes to the law that “maintain security cooperation on one hand and also justice to the families of the victims of terror.”
Grassley has had a hold for nearly a year on William Evanina, Trump’s pick to be the director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center because the intelligence community has not responded to congressional inquiries in a timely matter.
At one point, in 2015, he had a hold on almost two dozen State Department nominations, citing a slow response to his inquiries on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails and a former top aide.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
