Senator Rand Paul is complicating Mike Waltz's nomination to be US ambassador to the United Nations, dealing a potential setback to Trump's former national security adviser, sources familiar with the matter told Axios, Report informs.
Paul's concerns with Waltz forced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to delay an expected Wednesday vote on the nomination. The committee is now in recess.
Some Republicans are still hopeful that Paul can be convinced to fully support Waltz or that one or more Democrats will decide to back him in committee, according to people familiar with the matter.
"Mike Waltz is incredibly qualified to serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations, and he has demonstrated his commitment to President Trump's America First foreign policy agenda," said Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson.
When asked if he plans to support Waltz, Paul told Axios: "They pulled it for now, we're going to see what happens over the next week."
"If you want to report my opinion," he continued, "I had an exchange in the committee last week — that's probably the best thing to report."
Paul informed Chair Jim Risch yesterday that he would vote to advance Waltz's nomination but "without recommendation," according to a Paul spokesperson.
That would have allowed the committee to send Waltz to the floor, but without a favorable recommendation, creating a cloud over his nomination.
The chair decided to delay the committee vote to try to find a way to report Waltz to the floor under better circumstances.
