More Senators Comment On Bolton Appointment

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE)

"Sending John Bolton to the U.N. behind the Senate's back is a mistake in every respect. The reason John Bolton didn’t get a vote in the Senate is because the administration refused to provide information to which no one disputes the Senate is entitled. This is not the intended use of the President’s recess power – it’s an abuse of that power. A recess appointment is appropriate when the Senate is unable to act, or unwilling to act. It’s not appropriate when the administration is acting in bad faith.

"We know that John Bolton repeatedly tried to stretch intelligence and to remove intelligence analysts who disagreed with him. We know he was not fully forthcoming during the confirmation process. Just last week the State Department admitted that Mr. Bolton failed to disclose key information about having been interviewed by the Inspector General regarding the intelligence failures in Iraq.

"After all we’ve been through in Iraq with the misuse of intelligence by policymakers, promoting Mr. Bolton sends exactly the wrong message. More than ever, we need someone who can stand up and make the case about North Korea or Iran’s nuclear aspirations. We need someone who has credibility with the international community and Americans can trust. That is not John Bolton."

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA)

"The President's decision to recess appoint John Bolton to the United Nations knowing that he didn’t tell the truth on a document which he swore was truthful, and knowing that they have stonewalled the Senate on critical information, is just another example of the arrogance of power displayed by this Administration over and over again. A majority of Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee did not support this nomination and more than forty senators of both parties stopped this nomination from going forward several times."

Senator John Corzine (D-NJ)

“I am deeply disappointed by the recess appointment of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. He was not confirmed by the Senate because he was not suitable for the job. Senate Republicans and Democrats and former members of this administration all expressed serious concerns about Mr. Bolton during the confirmation process, and I had hoped that the administration would have reconsidered his nomination. Instead, this appointment seems to reconfirm the worst tendencies of this administration, toward isolationism, needless confrontation, and indifference to its own international credibility."

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

“The recess appointment of John Bolton to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations demonstrates the undue stubbornness of an Administration that seems more concerned with getting its own way than in providing the nation with the best possible representation at the UN."