Gentry O. Smith was a cop in his hometown of Raleigh, N.C., before joining the State Department nearly 25 years ago. Yet his April nomination, like many made by President Biden for the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and elsewhere, sat stalled for months in Senate committees, where a few Republican lawmakers blocked approval. “These are critical national security positions,” Blinken said, specifically mentioning the assistant secretary of State for diplomatic security, Smith’s designated position. Biden administration officials say the pipeline was 95% complete by the time they came to office, making sanctions now pointless. Committee chairs can override the holds and push nominees through to the full Senate, which Menendez did last week to move about 20 State Department nominations.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 11, 2021 11:02 UTC