Senator Ted Cruz Delays Confirmation Vote on U.N. Ambassador Nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield Over Her China-Africa Speech

Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz holds a copy of a 2019 speech by Linda Thomas-Greenfield that was delivered at 'Confucius Institute' at Savannah State University, during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the nomination of Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 27, 2021. MICHAEL REYNOLDS / POOL / AFP

Texas Senator Ted Cruz threw a wrench into Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s confirmation process to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Cruz called for a one-week delay of the vote on her confirmation and while that doesn’t sound like much, it would push the vote into the middle of the Senate’s contentious trial on whether to impeach former President Donald Trump.

Cruz is among a number of Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who took issue with a 2019 speech that Thomas-Greenfield gave at a Confucius Institute in Georgia, where she said both the U.S. and China could be positive influences in Africa.

  • Get a daily email packed with the latest China-Africa news and analysis.
  • Read exclusive insights on the key trends shaping China-Africa relations.
  • Full access to the News Feed that provides daily updates on Chinese engagement in Africa and throughout the Global South.

China, Africa and the Global South... find out what’s happening.

Subscribe today for unlimited access.

OR

Already a subscriber? Log in Click Here to Learn More
by Eric Olander

Most Read

1
Developing Countries’ Debt Servicing Costs to China Are Significant, but Nowhere Near as Much as Other Creditors
2 Chinese Military Fans Discuss Why Indonesia Bought Rafale Instead of J-10C
3
Indonesia Begins $5.9 Billion Chinese EV Battery Project Despite Environment Fears
4
Chinese Cargo Planes Secretly Ferrying Supplies to Iran, Claim Online Sleuths
5
Indonesia Goes Nuclear, Taps China and Russia for Modular Reactors
6
China, U.S. Ink Rare Earth Deal; More Trade Pacts Coming

You Might Like

Chinese Propaganda Promotes Beijing’s “Pragmatism” Over Washington’s “Idealism”

Global Times is one of China’s more nationalistic media outlets that often tests new propaganda and media messaging. This article was written Global Times writer Wang Cong in Kasane, Botswana. “The US continues ...

Florida Governor Calls China an “Adversary” Determined to Control Resources in Africa

Florida governor Rick Scott is by no means an important voice on foreign policy matters but he does offer some insight here on how a lot of senior US politicians now consider China ...

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Recent Trip to Africa Didn’t Make a Lot of News… And That’s a Good Thing

One of Washington’s leading Africa analysts, Judd Devermont at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published a short Q&A that reflected on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent three-nation African ...

As China’s International Relations Become Increasingly Fractious, Friendly Ties With Small Countries Like Ghana Gain Importance

China and Ghana marked the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations on Sunday and while these kinds of anniversaries typically aren’t very newsworthy, this year, well, things are different. Amid conflicts ...

What is The China-Global South Project?

Independent

The China-Global South Project is passionately independent, non-partisan and does not advocate for any country, company or culture.

News

A carefully curated selection of the day’s most important China-Global South stories. Updated 24 hours a day by human editors. No bots, no algorithms.

Analysis

Diverse, often unconventional insights from scholars, analysts, journalists and a variety of stakeholders in the China-Global South discourse.

Networking

A unique professional network of China-Africa scholars, analysts, journalists and other practioners from around the world.

More about CGSP