The U.S. Senate has announced the appointment of Mary Catherine Phee, a career diplomat, as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
- The U.S. Senate has announced the appointment of Mary Catherine Phee, a career diplomat, as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
- Phee’s, nomination was announced by the White House on April 15 and approved on August 4 by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
- The delay in appointment was caused when Texas Republican Ted Cruz blocked 80 State Department nominations using a parliamentary rule to delay nomination votes.
 Phee’s, nomination was announced by the White House on April 15 and approved on August 4 by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The delay in appointment was caused when Texas Republican Ted Cruz blocked 80 State Department nominations using a parliamentary rule to delay nomination votes. His objective was to mark a strong protest against President Biden’s refusal to impose sanctions on an almost complete pipeline to transfer natural gas from Russia to the European Union. As a result, all appointments became a time-consuming process in a crowded Senate calendar. Each nomination required a separate Senate vote called ‘cloture’ to end any debate and open the way  for approval,
 Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez has also moved approval of 10 more nominees of ambassadors including six ambassadors for Africa  – Christopher John Lamora to Cameroon, Maria E. Brewer to Lesotho, Elizabeth Moore Aubin to Algeria, Larry Edward Andre, Jr. to Somalia, Eugene S. Young to Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) and Tulinabo S. Mushingi to Angola, Sao Tome and Principe.
 Senate action is still awaited for  Brian Wesley Shukan to Benin, Howard Van Vranken to Botswana, David R. Gilmour to Equatorial Guinea, Virginia E. Palmer to Ghana, Troy Damian Fitrell to Guinea, Claire A. Pierangelo to Madagascar and Comoros, David John Young to Malawi, Peter Hendrick Vrooman to Mozambique, and Michael Battle to Tanzania.
In another key development, with special relevance to Africa, the White House has announced the selection of John N. Nkengasong, currently Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, as Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator of United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.
