-9999

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise in support of the nomination of Rufus Gifford to be Chief of Protocol with the rank of Ambassador.

Rufus, a native son of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, transitioned to a career in public service after a very successful career in the private sector.

In 2013, President Obama nominated Rufus to be U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, and he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

In Copenhagen, Rufus was the headliner in a reality TV show, ``I Am the Ambassador.'' The show's innovative approach to public diplomacy gave Danish viewers, particularly young people, an all-access pass into the life of a U.S. Ambassador and the U.S. diplomatic presence in the country. In a country of just 5 million people, 200,000 Danes tuned in to see how the U.S. Ambassador advanced his country's core interests. One Danish viewer said that ``it is the type of show you would watch with your mother-in-law, and she would say, oh, he is a lovely man, that Rufus Gifford.''

Rufus's effusive personality makes him the perfect choice for this new role as Chief of Protocol. In Copenhagen, Denmark, Rufus opened the Ambassador's residence to thousands of visitors. As Chief of Protocol, he will once again play host to foreign dignitaries at the White House and Blair House. His hand will be the first outstretched to greet a Prime Minister, President, or Monarch at a time when diplomacy is most needed.

Ambassador Gifford was unanimously confirmed by this body in 2013 and was unanimously reported out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 4 months ago.

320, Rufus Gifford, of Massachusetts, to be Chief of Protocol, and to have the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service; that the nomination be confirmed; that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order on the nomination and that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARKEY. His own colleagues are the ones who objected to a vote being held on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline as part of that agreement that was generously offered by the Democrats to the Republicans.

The problem is not on this side; the problem is on the side of the Senator from Texas. Yet he continues to hold up dozens of State Department officials, many of them career officials who should be on their jobs around the world right now.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARKEY. I yield back.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source