Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the Democratic Party’s next foreign policy leader, will make history next year as the first woman among leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations panel.
She insists the upper chamber can work together under President-elect Donald Trump to continue the U.S. support of Ukraine in its war against Russia and deter China as it boosts its military power and engages in increasingly provocative behavior, reported the Hill.
“I think in the Senate, there is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine, for trying to help Ukraine be in the strongest possible position for any negotiation on the war,” she said in a phone call with the news outlet last week.
“There is a lot of bipartisan agreement on the need to address China’s efforts to undermine the United States; Iran, North Korea, are all watching what’s happening in Ukraine. They’re taking lessons from how the United States responds.”
Shaheen, 77, says she will work with Republicans on the committee to confirm ambassadors and has also publicly committed to moving quickly to confirm Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., as secretary of state.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., told the Hill that Shaheen “always involves me in the phone calls she’s making with elected leaders, world leaders in Europe, and I really appreciate that.”
“Obviously these issues are not necessarily partisan, it’s about representing the interests of the United States, but she does a great job of making sure it’s a bipartisan effort when we’re talking to these world leaders.”
Still, she acknowledges the difficulty on getting Ukraine additional funding with Republicans in charge of the House, Senate, and White House.
She wouldn’t address questions on whether there is a strategy to push back against Trump but told the Hill that billionaire Elon Musk’s influence on Trump has “proven to be quite destructive.”
“He doesn’t seem to understand the impact, or doesn’t care about the challenge that we’re facing in the United States, from disinformation and misinformation, where we are behind our adversaries, China, Russia, even Iran, in addressing that, and that’s the role of the Global Engagement Center,” Shaheen said.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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