Today, Senator Coons chaired a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hear from the President’s nominees to serve as ambassador to Rwanda, Djibouti, Malawi, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, as well as USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health.
This hearing was timely, coming just a day after Chris returned from an official visit along with Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson to the West African states of Nigeria, Benin and Ghana. There he met with American personnel, local leaders, and human rights workers to observe their work firsthand and discuss a range of regional issues. The visit focused on issues related to our engagement with Africa and the implementation of critical food security, global health, and economic development programs, as well as U.S. policies aimed at improving democratic governance and the growth of markets for American products. Chris was selected earlier this year to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, and Senator Isakson serves as the Subcommittee’s ranking Republican.
The nominees who appeared before the Committee today were Donald W. Koran to be ambassador to Rwanda, Geeta Pasi to be ambassador to Djibouti, Jeanine Jackson to be ambassador to Malawi, Lewis A. Lukens to be ambassador to Senegal and concurrently Guinea-Bissau, and Dr. Pablos-Mendez to be the Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID.
At the hearing, the nominees answered questions on a range of issues from LGBT rights to the drug trade’s effect on government corruption. The senators were keen to press the nominees on how to increase efficiency in their missions in light of our rising debt and efforts to reduce federal spending.
To watch a full video of the proceedings, go to click here.