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Holbrooke nomination clears Senate hurdle
June 30, 1999 WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 30) -- The long-delayed nomination of Richard Holbrooke to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations quietly cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, sending it to the Senate floor where a vote may occur by week's end. Holbrooke was among 25 diplomatic nominations that were passed by the panel at the same time, by voice vote. But the nomination had a final obstacle to overcome: a "hold" put on it by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, over an unrelated civil service dispute. By Senate tradition, any senator can hold up -- at least for a while -- any nomination for any reason. Grassley complained about what he contended was punishment of a civil service worker, Linda Shenwick, an employe of the U.N. mission in New York. She contends she was transferred and demoted for telling the Congress and the news media about State Department of waste and mismanagement. Senators generally predicted the matter would be resolved, but weren't sure how. "Everything's resolvable around here," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a committee member. President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Holbrooke in June 1998, but the nomination was held up for nine months while the Justice and State departments investigated ethics allegations. The Foreign Relations panel then conducted its own investgation into the allegations, and held three separate confirmation hearings on Holbrooke. For the most part, the allegations focused on private-sector contacts Holbrooke had and speaking fees he received after leaving the State Department for the private sector in 1996. Holbrooke paid $5,000 to resolve most of the allegations, but without admitting wrongdoing. Holbrooke, an investment banker, is a former assistant secretary of state and ambassador to Germany. He has also served as Clinton's special envoy on the Balkans, and was the architect of the peace accord that ended the civil war in Bosnia. Despite the repeated snags his nomination has hit, Holbrooke enjoys wide support in the Senate, including from Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, R-N.C. At today's business meeting, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., moved simply that all nominations on the panel's agenda by approved. Helms asked if anyone wanted to speak. No one did, and the nominations were approved. Helms joked that it was probably "the quickest vote" the committee had ever had. The Associated Press contributed to this report. MORE STORIES:Wednesday, June 30, 1999
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