Hawley lifts hold on Biden’s pick for NATO envoy, teeing up confirmation

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) on Thursday said he would remove his objections against President Biden’s pick for ambassador to NATO, lifting a key stumbling block in allowing her confirmation vote to proceed in the Senate.

Hawley had exercised a hold on Julianne Smith, requiring the majority leader to dedicate hours or days of floor time to force a recorded vote that could otherwise be achieved with a relatively quick voice vote.

An aide for Hawley said Smith could now receive a vote as early as Thursday. 

Hawley said in a statement to The Hill that he lifted his hold following a letter sent by Smith to the senator pledging to press NATO allies to increase their defense spending.

“The two percent pledge made by NATO allies at Wales in 2014 is no longer sufficient. Today’s security environment is far worse than the one that confronted us in 2014, and our allies must increase defense spending accordingly. Julianne Smith recognizes that need and has committed to push our allies to beyond the Wales commitment,” Hawley said in the statement.

Politico first reported the move by Hawley.

The Missouri senator has holds on at least five other nominees, for multiple leadership positions in the State Department and one leadership position in the Department of Defense.

Hawley has called for the resignations of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan over their handling of the U.S. pullout of Afghanistan in exchange for lifting the holds.

“I’m holding all leadership positions at the Department of Defense and the State Department and I intend to do so until there’s some accountability,” he told The Hill on Tuesday.

Having the U.S. Ambassador to NATO confirmed in the position is viewed as a national security imperative amid increasing Russian aggression — including Moscow’s buildup of troops on the border of Ukraine, concerns over maintaining delivery of natural gas, ongoing malicious cyber activity and the Kremlin’s support for Belarus’s illegitimate president Alexander Lukashenko and his campaign to destabilize Europe by funneling refugees from the Middle East over Poland’s border.

Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans are frustrated with the holds on Biden’s nominees. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has a blanket hold on all of Biden’s State Department nominees over his opposition to the administration’s Russia policy.

This amounts to about 50 people and could potentially include Smith. But Cruz has lifted specific holds before and said he would not exercise a hold on Biden’s nominee for ambassador to China.

Cruz’s office did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.