SerpApi.Org
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is threatening to sink two ambassadorial nominations unless the Trump administration releases money that Congress appropriated for a global AIDS initiative.
In the past year, the administration has significantly reconfigured and reduced the U.S. commitment to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. It temporarily halted distribution of nearly all foreign aid at the start of 2025 before restoring funding for what it classified as "lifesaving" aid such as PEPFAR.
Aid groups that receive the funding, however, said grants were still often delayed or canceled, causing cuts to clinics and services. PEPFAR was created by President George W. Bush in 2003.
Cornyn, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Semafor on Tuesday that he would not support committee action on Kari Lake's nomination as U.S. ambassador to Jamaica or Doug Mastriano's bid to become U.S. ambassador to Slovakia without confirmation that the administration will release the congressionally appropriated PEPFAR funds.
The committee is scheduled to consider the nominations of Lake and Mastriano at a Wednesday hearing.
"The only way it seems like you can get the administration's attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees," Cornyn told Semafor. "We are going to use the committee vote tomorrow as a way to ... get the money distributed the way Congress appropriated it."
With Republicans holding a 12-10 majority on the committee, Cornyn could block the nominations by voting no, provided that all Democrats follow suit. With full committee attendance, a tie vote means the nominations would fail, although Cornyn said he thinks he "will not be alone" among Republicans taking such a stand.
Cornyn also said he would vote against Lake and Mastriano if they were approved by the committee.
The standoff marks another public break between Cornyn and the Trump administration after President Donald Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over the incumbent senator in this year's Republican primary runoff. Paxton went on to defeat Cornyn for the GOP nomination.
Cornyn told Semafor he informed Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch, R-Idaho, that he would vote against Lake and Mastriano unless the PEPFAR funding is released. The administration did not immediately respond to Semafor's request for comment.
Cornyn said he estimates about $1.3 billion is ready to be released immediately. He wants more details on the roughly $10 billion that Congress has appropriated for the program over the past two fiscal years.
Semafor reported last month that the Trump administration is phasing out PEPFAR funding in South Africa, home to about 7.8 million people living with HIV — the world's largest HIV-positive population — according to World Health Organization data.
Cornyn said the money is important for two reasons: saving lives and keeping the U.S. relevant in Africa, where Russia and China are competing for influence.
"This is one of the really important elements of our soft power, too, because America needs friends in Africa," Cornyn told Semafor. "So, not only is it the right thing to do from a compassionate point of view, it's in our self-interest to make sure this money is used to promote American soft power and to make friends."
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