English/Español: Rubio Places a Hold on Biden's Nominees to Serve as U.S. Ambassadors to China and Spain

Statement

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a statement after placing holds on R. Nicholas Burns and Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, President Joe Biden's nominees to serve as U.S. Ambassadors to China and Spain, respectively.

"Nicholas Burns has a long career in public service, but it is a career defined by the failure to understand the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party," Rubio said of Mr. Burns. "In fact, Burns displayed no remorse or concern about his current business relationships with nationless corporations operating in China. Burns is exactly the type of nominee I expect from President Biden given this administration's weak approach toward China, including lobbying against my bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The last thing we need is another caretaker of American decline in the room with the Chinese Communist Party."

"Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón is a Castro sympathizer and apologist who has absolutely no business being in our government," Rubio said of Ms. Reynoso. "Her direct involvement in helping to exchange incarcerated members of the regime's intelligence service, while serving a sentence in a U.S. prison amid the Obama-Castro appeasement policy, raises serious questions about her character and judgement. One thing I am confident of, though, is that Reynoso would not push Spain to increase pressure on the authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. In fact, she will likely give Spain a pass for turning a blind eye. We need someone who is committed to freedom and human rights in the Western Hemisphere, not an envoy for dictators."

Rubio is Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

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