Schatz to block Trump -Nominated over USAID -Relocation

Washington >> US Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii said today he would block Senate’s votes on President Donald Trump’s diplomatic nominees in protest against planning to close the US Agency of International Development and merge it to the Ministry of State.

According to the chamber’s rules, a senator can hold up nominations, even if the other 99 all want them to move rapidly, forcing the Senate to consume many hours of flooring time to move nominations or promotions in the future.

Trump has said billionaire Elon Musk has been awarded to cut wasted spending within the federal government. He has led the efforts to shut down USAID while making increasingly harsher and unfounded accusations against it.

USAID provides help with projects ranging from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, energy security and anti -corruption work. It provided 42% of all humanitatric help traced by the United Nations in 2024.

Workers at the Agency were today told to stay home from work, after reports that hundreds or even thousands of employees had been removed from their jobs.

Schatz was one of several Democratic members of Congress who held a press conference outside the agency to reject what they see as an attack on Washington’s primary agency that funds billions of dollars the value of life -saving help globally.

He told Reuters about his plan, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, before the press conference.

Another democratic senator, Chris Van Hollen, told journalists after the press conference he would also act to stop the nominated state departments.

Lowering nominations or campaigns to be approved by the Senate is one of the few options available to members of the Minority Party to try to influence the policy.

Last year, when the Democrats had a slim majority in the chamber, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville blocked hundreds of military campaigns over the Ministry of Defense’s abortion policy.