Top foreign policy senator urges incoming Republicans to allow full vetting of Trump nominees

In a letter first obtained by The National, Senate foreign relations committee chairman Ben Cardin urged Republicans to 'resist pressure' to take a partisan approach

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin. EPA

Departing chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee Ben Cardin has sent a letter to his Republican successor emphasising the need for the new Republican majority to “resist pressure” and fully vet president-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy nominations.

In the letter, first obtained by The National, Mr Cardin told Senator Jim Risch that allowing the full vetting process of the president's nominees “was in the best interest of the committee, the Senate and the American people, even when it required resisting pressure to take a different, unilateral approach".

The Senate committee has oversight authority on the US State Department, and plays a key role in approving Washington's diplomatic corps, including ambassadors.

Mr Trump has included some controversial foreign policy appointments as his team transitions back into the White House, including Mike Huckabee as Washington's ambassador to Israel.

He has also nominated billionaire businessman and longtime friend Tom Barrack, a Lebanese-American, to be Washington's ambassador to Turkey.

Mr Cardin told reporters on Thursday at his last briefing that “when the Democrats have had the gavel, we have allowed for the full vetting process and the rights of every member of the committee and the ranking member to be able to work with us".

“We are expecting that type of courtesy to be extended in the next Congress, as the Republicans have the gavel.”

The committee will switch from Democratic to Republican control when the new government comes to power in January. Foreign policy committees are typically among Washington's most co-operative and bipartisan, but that legacy has faced recent hurdles amid the chaos in the Middle East from Israel's Gaza war.

Mr Risch has held up committee activities over disputes he says have to do with Mr Cardin not bringing a House-passed bill that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its warrants against Israeli officials.

In October, a US ambassador nominee withdrew after waiting nearly two and half years for any movement on her nomination. Mr Cardin addressed this backlog, saying that although Democrats are “not giving up hope yet", he has “not got the consent from Republican leadership” to move forward with about 29 nominations for vacant diplomatic posts.

US Senator Ben Cardin, far left, with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, before a Capitol Hill lunch with other senators. Rashed Al Mansoori / Crown Prince Court Abu Dhabi

Leading senators have called Mr Cardin, pictured with Sheikh Mohamed, 'a tireless proponent for peace in the Middle East'. Rashed Al Mansoori / Crown Prince Court Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohamed greets US senators Bob Corker, Mitch McConnell, John McCain and Mr Cardin. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court Abu Dhabi

Mr Cardin joins a bipartisan group of top US senators for a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court Abu Dhabi

Mr Cardin, far left, joins King Abdullah II of Jordan and other Senate foreign policy leaders for a breakfast meeting at the US Capitol in 2021.

King Abdullah with US Senator Bob Menendez, second right, and Mr Cardin at the Capitol in Washington in May 2022. AFP

Mr Cardin listens to testimony during a Senate foreign relations committee hearing about US policy on Turkey in July 2021. Reuters

Mr Cardin, foreign relations committee chairman Mr Menendez and ranking member Senator James Risch on Capitol Hill in August 2021 for a hearing on repealing authorisation for military activity in Iraq. Getty / AFP

Mr Cardin questions Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a committee hearing in September 2021 in about the Biden administration's handling of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Getty / AFP

US President Joe Biden signs the Ukraine Democracy Defence Lend-Lease Act in the Oval Office of the White House in May 2022, with Mr Cardin and Ukraine-born House member Victoria Spartz. AP

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, greets Mr Cardin before a hearing with the Helsinki Commission in March 2022 in Washington. Getty / AFP