GOP Sen. J.D. Vance blocked more than two dozen Biden ambassador nominees for months by grilling them on their approach to LGBT and DEI agendas, according to a leaked memo.
Vance, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, asked the would-be ambassadors hot-topic questions concerning their stance on DEI, gender ideology and other LGBT topics, according to a copy of the memo obtained by the Washington Post. Vance used the questionnaire to hold up the confirmations of more than 30 diplomats assigned to serve in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
“The publics of our many allies, and those counties we seek to build stronger relationships with, have traditional Christian, Jewish, Muslim or Hindu values,” Vance’s memo states. “If confirmed, how would you explain to them what the United States’ promoting human rights for LGBTQ people would look like in their country?”
The questionnaires showed career diplomats attempting to alleviate Vance without contradicting the administration’s stance on LGBT rights, the Washington Post reported.
LEAKED: Apparently, leaked memos show that J.D. Vance is so hardcore against wokeness that he froze dozens of ambassador nominations over their views on gender transition and DEI. Incredible.
To do this, Vance asked prospective ambassadors if they’d increase the number of… pic.twitter.com/7y4gbIFJzs
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 20, 2024
In the memo, Vance pressed the would-be diplomats about how they would address specific aspects of the State Department’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan.
Vance asked about the goals to “Assess resources for gender dysmorphia and gender transition care at posts for employees and their dependents” and “increase gender-neutral restrooms and locker rooms in overseas facilities,” according to the DEIA plan.
The ambassador nominated to be Biden’s envoy to the African Union, Stephanie S. Sullivan, voiced her anger against Vance after he accused her of being woke, promoting a “progressive social policy” on gender identity, the Washington Post reported. The ambassador nominee oversaw an embassy that flew a pride flag.
Several GOP senators took issue with comments from Sullivan in videos from 2020 where she talks about “systemic racism” in America regarding the 4th of July, the Daily Caller reported. In April 2023, several Senate Democrats pushed a unanimous consent vote for Sullivan to be nominated as the U.S. representative to the African Union.
Vance’s effort to block the nominees led him to place holds on over 30 would-be ambassadors for the Senate-confirmed positions at the State Department, according to the Washington Post. A hold on nominees forces the party in power to call individual votes on a political appointee rather than moving nominations through unanimous consent votes.
After back-and-forth discussions with the State Department for over a year regarding the questionnaire and holds, Vance eventually lifted most of the 30+ holds in April, according to the Washington Post.
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