The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick for ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, by a voice vote Thursday after Sen. Josh Hawley removed his objection to the nomination.
The Senate could consider the annual defense authorization bill as soon as Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., abandoned a controversial push to merge it with sweeping China-focused legislation.
Packaging the annual defense bill with another sweeping bill to make the U.S. more competitive with China will swamp the entire thing, the Democratic chair of the House Armed Services Committee is warning.
Coast Guard Investigative Service agents discovered that U.S. Coast Guard Academy Command Master Chief Brett VerHulst had a history of inappropriate physical contact with female cadets, enlisted personnel and officers.
Staffing levels at the Kabul embassy have already been significantly reduced pending the completion of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan.