Politics
After Nudge From Trump, Senate Sets Fast Pace in Confirming His Ambassadors
Late last month, President Trump began grumbling — first quietly and privately, then publicly — that the Senate was moving too slowly to confirm his picks to fill highly sought ambassadorships around the world.
Mere weeks later, Senate Republicans have vastly stepped up their pace in approving his nominees, installing nearly a dozen mostly wealthy loyalists as envoys to key countries and moving more quickly than other presidents have in the past few decades.
The flurry of confirmations — 10 in Mr. Trump’s first 100 days in office — has already outpaced his most recent predecessors and that of his first term, and it comes as the president and his team have undertaken a broader effort to reshape the State Department and U.S. diplomacy. Unlike some of his cabinet nominees, most have sailed through with unanimous Republican support and at least some backing from Democrats.
That was the case on Tuesday, when the Senate voted 67 to 29 to confirm David Perdue, the former senator from Georgia and businessman, to be the U.S. ambassador to China.
His approval did not come as a surprise. Mr. Perdue maintains close relationships with many of his former colleagues and at his hearing earlier this month, he was spared critical questions on topics such as his past criticism of across-the-board tariffs or when he boasted about frequently moving American jobs overseas during his time as a business executive.
Instead, Mr. Perdue said he would dutifully carry out the president’s agenda and, like other Trump appointees to serve as top diplomats around the globe, affirmed his commitment to project an “America First” agenda while stationed abroad.
“President Trump’s America First strategy is not isolation, it’s just the reverse,” Mr. Perdue said during his hearing in early April, arguing that an intense focus on strengthening domestic manufacturing would enhance the partnership between the world’s two largest economies. “America will be a stronger ally and partner by rebuilding our strategic supply chains at home and with our friends.”
Waiting in the wings are dozens more ambassadorial nominations that the White House has sent to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, setting the stage for what the Trump administration hopes will be a rapid transformation at the top of U.S. diplomatic ranks abroad.
Most of those confirmed so far or in line to be are extremely wealthy and politically or personally connected to Mr. Trump, such as Thomas Barrack, a billionaire private equity investor who has known Mr. Trump for decades and who was confirmed late Wednesday to serve as ambassador to Turkey. The Senate also worked late Wednesday evening, voting by an overwhelming margin to confirm Tilman Fertitta, the Texas billionaire owner of the Houston Rockets N.B.A. team, as the next U.S. ambassador to Italy.
The unusually speedy action by the Senate, usually known for its slow-moving deliberation, is a point of pride for Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader.
“We’re going to continue to confirm the president’s ambassadors as expeditiously as possible,” Mr. Thune said from the Senate floor on Monday morning as he unveiled the slate of votes to confirm several overseas posts.
Senator Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho, who leads the foreign affairs panel, said in a statement that the Senate was moving “at a record pace” to confirm Mr. Trump’s ambassadors.
The momentum began to shift after Mr. Trump expressed frustration in late March over the slow pace at which his nominees for ambassadorships were being confirmed. During a meeting at the White House with a number of unconfirmed nominees, Mr. Trump criticized the delay, prompting Senate Republicans to prioritize his ambassadorial picks over other confirmations.
“We’re being delayed as much as possible by Democrats,” Mr. Trump said during the meeting.
Although Democrats do not have enough seats to derail any of Mr. Trump’s nominees, some have sought to obstruct the process by placing holds on nominations and requiring that each post be considered and voted on individually. The move prompted Mr. Trump to lash out, accusing Senate Democrats of jeopardizing national security.
“A process that should take a matter of minutes is forced into taking months,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post late last month, adding that it was “so hard to watch as Highly Qualified and Respected Ambassadors, who we desperately need representing our Country in Faraway Lands, are purposefully meant to wait.”
Critics of Mr. Trump’s picks, however, argue that many are unqualified for the roles. Among them is Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, who has spent much of the year drawing large crowds at his “Fight the Oligarchy” tour. He pointed to the appointments of wealthy donors and billionaires as evidence of systemic corruption.
“This is just one more indication of the corruption of our campaign finance system: Billionaires not only buy elections and presidencies, they buy top jobs in the White House and important ambassadorships representing our country around the world,” he said in a statement.
Senator Brian Schatz, Democrat of Hawaii, has taken the lead in opposing State Department nominees and said he would seek procedural ways to delay each pick from moving forward, but Republicans have trudged ahead through the lengthy process anyway.
And other Democrats are not inclined to try to stand in the way. Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, has broken with her party more than any other member of the caucus in supporting Mr. Trump’s ambassadorial picks.
Out of the 10 confirmed, she has backed eight. Two of those times she was the only Democrat supporting the nominee, though she was never the deciding vote. In an interview, she said she did not see supporting Mr. Trump’s nominees as tantamount to backing his efforts to upend American foreign policy.
“I don’t see trying to put ambassadors in positions as an effort to reshape diplomacy,” Ms. Shaheen said ahead of her vote in support of Mr. Perdue. “It is in America’s interest to have ambassadors on the ground who can defend American interests in countries around the world,” she said, adding that she had been disappointed that during the Biden administration, Senate Republicans had held up many appointments.
When asked about the approach of her Democratic colleagues who have sought to block nominations, she simply said: “Well, you have to talk to them about their views.”
Senator Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, a member of the foreign affairs committee who regularly meets with ambassadors, said that Mr. Trump’s picks to serve as top diplomats were not as concerning to him as other foreign policy changes Mr. Trump had instituted.
“I think the biggest impact on our standing in the world has been the crushing of U.S.A.I.D., the almost complete elimination of the significance and power of our foreign aid programs,” Mr. Coons said on Tuesday, moments before voting to confirm Mr. Perdue. “So they can prioritize confirming a few ambassadors, but it won’t change the very negative impact on our standing in the world of his recent making.”
Politics
Video: Reflecting Pool Turns Green, Paint Peels After Renovation
new video loaded: Reflecting Pool Turns Green, Paint Peels After Renovation
transcript
transcript
Reflecting Pool Turns Green, Paint Peels After Renovation
Algae blooms have hit the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which underwent a $14.2 million repair project. Blue paint appeared to be chipping from the bottom.
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“The reflecting pool is greener than I have ever seen it before due to algae.” “I was expecting to see blue, but green is O.K.” “Honestly, I don’t think you can fight mother nature.”
By Julie Yoon, Jackeline Luna and Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
June 19, 2026
Politics
Top GOP lawmaker rallies around conservative school board member facing calls to resign
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House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., rebuked a school board in Richmond, Michigan, after some of its members tried to remove a conservative colleague for missing meetings while on military deployment to the Middle East.
Ray Stier, who received an American flag and a copy of the Congressional Record from McClain on Thursday as a commendation of his work, had been on deployment, attending board meetings remotely, but eventually lost virtual access.
That’s when the board called for his removal, citing a “disservice” caused by his absence.
“One of the board members’ family was taking to social media and putting out misinformation about myself and my wife and things that were not factually accurate and then ultimately calling for my resignation and prompting others to reach out to the district to call for my recall,” Stier recounted.
PARENTS SAY THEY’RE RUNNING FOR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS TO FIGHT ‘POISONOUS’ CRITICAL RACE THEORY
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., left, pictured alongside Ray Stier, a school board member in Richmond, Michigan. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; office of Lisa McClain)
The moment is just the most recent clash between Republicans and school boards over policies that, in their view, are gatekeeping schools against diversity of thought and accountability.
“I think education is extremely important and vital,” McClain told Fox News Digital.
“And educators and administrators need to teach children how to think, not what to think. It’s about time that administrators begin to get held accountable for their actions. Good actions and bad actions.”
McClain’s meeting with Stier comes on the heels of a congressional hearing last week where she grilled a superintendent from Virginia over student privacy policy, probing if those policies were being unevenly applied to favor transgender students.
VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT SLAPPED WITH COMPLAINT ALLEGING NEW CLAIMS IN VIRAL TRANS LOCKER ROOM FIGHT
Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club on Feb. 28, 2023. (Tom Williams/ CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
“The victims got a 10-day suspension and the biological female that did the filming got a one-day suspension,” McClain said, referring to an incident at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun County where students had been reprimanded for filming in a locker room.
“How does that make sense?”
In Stier’s case, McClain questioned whether the board had targeted Stier on account of just his deployment overseas. Stierhad clashed with the board after learning that some of the district’s bathroom policies would have allowed fourth-grade students to use the same bathroom as transgender eighth-grade boys.
“Prior to him filling the seat, the seat was open for two months,” McClain observed. So that logical argument doesn’t exactly make sense to me; it doesn’t really hold a lot of water.”
MICHIGAN PARENT WANTS TRUMP TO ACT AFTER DAUGHTER SHARES LOCKER ROOM WITH TRANS-ATHLETE
House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., left, pictured alongside Richmond, Michigan school board member Ray Stier right. (Office of Lisa McClain)
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For his own part, Stier believes his case will refocus attention on the importance of the school board and its membership.
“My goal is to continue being an advocate for the community. One of the good things that I think came out of this was that it got so much attention that some of the community members who were unaware of the dynamics that were not being brought to light,” Stier said.
Politics
Political watchdog fines Newsom for failing to report $5.5M in solicited donations on time
California’s political watchdog commission on Thursday finalized a $31,500 fine against Gov. Gavin Newsom, alleging that the Democratic leader failed to report three dozen behested payments totaling $5.5 million mostly to support wildfire recovery by the deadline under state law.
The Political Reform Act requires elected officials to disclose payments of $5,000 or more that they solicit or direct others to give to a charitable, legislative or governmental purpose within 30 days.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission said 34 of the violations were for failing to report on time that Newsom and his staff directed outreach from companies and foundations that wanted to help after the Los Angeles wildfires to the California Fire Foundation. The nonprofit was started in 1987 by the California Professional Firefighters to support the families of fallen firefighters and communities impacted by fire.
The donations include $1 million from the Chuck Lorre Foundation and $500,000 apiece from Lockheed Martin, the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and BlackRock, among others gifts.
The governor also failed in 2024 to report on time two behested payments, totaling $100,000 from the Schmidt Family Foundation and Schwab Charitable Funds to the Institute for Local Government, a nonprofit within the League of California Cities.
The commission said the governor reported all of the payments “prior to public discovery” or contact from its enforcement division, which it considered a mitigating factor. Newsom also signed the stipulation and agreed to the fine.
Tara Gallegos, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, said the issue involved late paperwork at a time when the governor’s staff was focused on emergency response and supporting survivors. She also underscored the fact that the reports were filed before he was contact by the FPPC.
Gallegos said the fine is unrelated to an alleged investigation into the governor and his wife by the Department of Justice, which Newsom announced this week.
Newsom alleged Monday that Trump is using the government as a political weapon to target him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Newsom announced the investigation after he learned that the FBI and Internal Revenue Service asked his associates questions about nonprofits and businesses related to the couple.
The governor’s office characterized the investigation as a fishing expedition. The Trump administration declined to comment.
A source familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly, said two federal probes have been going on for about a year, and that they originated not from Washington, D.C., but from conversations between whistleblowers and federal prosecutors based in Sacramento. The probes are linked to Newsom’s former chief-of-staff, Dana Williamson, and Siebel Newsom’s taxes, the source said.
The FPPC violations mark the second time Newsom has reported payments late, which increased his penalty for the new infractions. The commission fined Newsom in 2024 for failing to timely report 18 payments totaling $14.4 million.
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