The Hawaiian lawmaker is acting in protest of recent talk about potentially dismantling USAID, he says.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said Monday that he will place a hold on President Donald Trump’s State Department nominees following a recent flurry of activity in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Schatz, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he’d put a “blanket hold” on the State Department picks in protest of recent talk about potentially dismantling USAID.
Under the Senate’s rules, one senator can hold up nominations even if the other 99 want them to move quickly, forcing the Senate to use up many hours of floor time to advance nominations or promotions.
The senator said that he believes the courts may temporarily stop attempts to dissolve USAID.
“You cannot wave a wand and eliminate a department established by federal law, so it will be reversed by a court,” Schatz said.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said at a rally near the USAID building on Monday that Trump’s decision…
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