Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is reportedly threatening to block two of President Donald Trump’s ambassadorial nominees unless the administration releases more than $1 billion in foreign aid funding for Africa.
Semafor reported Tuesday that Cornyn plans to oppose the nominations of Kari Lake and Doug Mastriano unless the administration releases funding through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
The political maneuver comes as the Foreign Relations Committee is expected to consider Lake’s nomination on Wednesday.
“The only way it seems like you can get the administration’s attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees,” Cornyn told Semafor. “We are going to use the committee vote tomorrow as a way to…. Get the money distributed the way Congress appropriated it.”
The committee is made up of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats, meaning a single GOP defection is enough to block a nominee. Cornyn also hinted he may have company, telling the outlet, “I will not be alone.”
PEPFAR, launched by President George W. Bush in 2003, is the largest commitment by any nation to combat a single disease in history.
Last year, the Trump administration overhauled the program, arguing that low-income countries receiving aid should assume a greater share of the financial responsibility for combating HIV.
Cornyn argued the funding remains critical to saving lives and advancing U.S. interests in Africa. He wants $1.3 billion to be released immediately before voting for Trump’s nominees, according to the outlet.
“This is one of the really important elements of our soft power too, because America needs friends in Africa,” Cornyn said. ‘So, not only is it the right thing to do from a compassionate point of view, it’s in our self-interest to make sure this money is used to promote American soft power and to make friends.”
It’s unclear whether the White House will agree to Cornyn’s demands.
The standoff comes just weeks after Cornyn suffered a decisive GOP primary defeat to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton despite spending months trying to secure Trump’s endorsement.
Cornyn’s defeat dealt a major blow to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who had repeatedly urged Trump to back the four-term senator and longtime fixture in GOP leadership.
“Sen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas, but none of us control what the president does,” Thune said of Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement. “That doesn’t change the way I feel.”
Cornyn was the latest incumbent — and second senator to fall — amid Trump’s campaign to purge Republicans he views as disloyal to his agenda. In recent months, the Trump endorsement has led to losses by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and a handful of Indiana Republicans who bucked the president’s redistricting effort.
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