Senate Foreign Relations Advances Nominee for State Department Sanctions Role
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted June 18 to approve 10 Trump administration nominations, including Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment and Andrew Puzder as U.S. ambassador to the EU.
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Helberg testified before the committee June 10 that he would strictly enforce existing sanctions against Russia, while Puzder said he would seek to increase U.S. exports to the EU (see 2506100041).
Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., voted against Puzder, saying he provided incomplete answers to written questions, including whether he would advocate for seizing frozen Russian assets in Europe to help rebuild Ukraine. She noted that Congress passed a law in 2024 authorizing the seizure of such assets in the U.S. (see 2404240043).
“He basically says the United States has discussed with the [Group of Seven] and the European Union the disposition of immobilized Russian sovereign assets, and the administration has made clear all options remain on the table,” Shaheen said. “That is not an answer to an issue that the Congress has overwhelmingly supported.”