I just received a phone call from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I was informed that the Committee will definitively not hold hearings on John Bolton’s nomination next week and that they will occur some time in April.
I confirmed with my source in the State Department that the effort to fast-track Bolton has been successfully derailed — thanks to your efforts and to the good sense and reason of Senator Lugar who does want to play honorably and fairly when it comes to these hearings.
It was important to make these calls today. While the State Department was pushing from one side on Lugar’s staff, there was no resistance from the other. Many of you provided the resistance to make sure that this was not ram-rodded through.
And just to be clear, the Dem staff needed this too. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is pretty collegial — so for Biden to take exception to a decision by Senator Lugar would require some reason. If there had been no civil society alert in this case and Lugar had made the announement on Bolton, Biden would have had little to give Lugar by way of excuses for delay.
So, today’s effort was extremely useful on many fronts.
This is one small victory. Much more to do now.
But at least we have some time to prepare our case on the many, many better options Republicans have for Ambassador to the United Nations than John Bolton.
— Steve Clemons
