Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reiterated his concerns about President Joe Biden’s nominee for Ambassador to the United Nations over comments she made praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2019.
“China, I believe, poses the single greatest geopolitical threat to the United States over the next century,” Cruz said. “We need a UN ambassador who will stand up to China, to China’s pervasive influence at the United Nations. And given her record, I have no confidence that this nominee would do so.”
“Ultimately, the future is about Africa and its people. The U.S. should be focused on building a strong partnership with Africa which is based on shared values of peace, prosperity, sustained economic growth and development, and a firm commitment to good governance, gender equity, and the rule of law. I see no reason why China cannot share in those values. In fact, China is in a unique position to spread these ideals given its strong footprint on the continent,” she said.
Thomas-Greenfield told senators that she has a long track record of acknowledging the regime’s malign activities and expressed regret for accepting the invitation to speak at the Savannah State University Confucius Institute.
Cruz took issue with how Thomas-Greenfield did not acknowledge any of the communist government’s malign activities and human rights abuses. He also raised concerns that the nominee’s comments were not “one-off.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) defended Thomas-Greenfield during his opening remarks on the committee floor.
Thomas-Greenfield’s nomination was ultimately approved in an 18–4 vote and has moved to the full Senate floor for consideration.
While the move would not cancel the floor vote, is likely to delay it by up to 30 hours.
“I’ll lift the hold when the Biden admin commits to keep the massive Chinese Communist Party spy operation Huawei on the Entity List,” Cruz said in a statement on Twitter.