Mike Waltz’s nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has cleared a key hurdle, after Senate Foreign Relations Committee Republicans found a way to overcome a blockade from one of their own members.
The panel voted 12-10 to advance the nomination Thursday, with ranking member Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) siding with GOP members to overcome opposition from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that had derailed committee plans to vote on Waltz the day before.
Paul told members of the panel that he was willing to help move Waltz out of committee with no recommendation, instead of favorably. Other Republicans on the committee, however, were loath to go that route, because it would be viewed as a blemish on Waltz’s record.
Waltz is already under scrutiny for using an insecure messaging platform to discuss war plans, which cost him his job as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser earlier this year.
