[Senate Prints 116-59]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress} { S. Prt.
1st Session } COMMITTEE PRINT { 116-59
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ON THE NOMINATION OF KELLY
CRAFT TO BE U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
__________
A MINORITY STAFF REPORT
PREPARED FOR THE USE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
FIRST SESSION
July 2019
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations
Available via the World Wide Web:
http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44-821 PDF WASHINGTON : 2021
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho, Chairman
MARCO RUBIO, Florida ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland
CORY GARDNER, Colorado JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware
LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina TOM UDALL, New Mexico
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio TIM KAINE, Virginia
RAND PAUL, Kentucky EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
TODD YOUNG, Indiana JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
TED CRUZ, Texas CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey
DAVID PERDUE, Georgia
Christopher M. Socha, Staff Director
Jessica Lewis, Democratic Staff Director
John Dutton, Chief Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Page
I. Summary....................................................... 1
II. Kelly Craft: Not the Right Choice for U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations................................................. 3
A. Lack of Relevant Experience............................... 3
B. Excessive Absences from Post.............................. 4
C. Lack of Diligence in Avoiding Conflicts................... 6
D. Conclusion................................................ 8
(iii)
I. Summary
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The U.S. representative to the United Nations (UN) is a
critically important position. The U.S. representative is
charged with protecting and advancing U.S. interests in the UN
Security Council and in other complex, multilateral fora;
negotiating agreements with partners and adversaries; building
hard-to-achieve consensus on the world's most intractable
problems; and navigating and nurturing long-standing diplomatic
relationships and disputes. Domestically, the position occupies
a key role in the President's national security and foreign
policy team.
Those who have represented the United States in this role
in the past brought with them diverse diplomatic and political
experience that positioned them as skilled negotiators and
diplomats--Americans who have the experience and qualifications
to protect and advance U.S. interests on the world stage.
While any administration is entitled to select the
representative of its choosing, the Senate must carefully
administer its constitutional duty to advise and consent on
such nominees. This includes a thorough examination of a
nominee's background, as well as specific experience and
skillset. In this case, Ambassador Kelly Craft's qualifications
fall short: she does not have the knowledge, skills,
qualifications, or experience to successfully lead the United
States' efforts at the United Nations.
This appointment also comes at a time of increased
hostility towards the United Nations and multilateral
institutions more broadly. The President has spoken
disparagingly about the role of the body itself; and, under his
administration, the United States pulled out of the UN Human
Rights Council, withdrew from talks on the Global Compact on
Migration before they had even finished, and referred to the
International Criminal Court as ``illegitimate.'' Balancing the
views of this administration while effectively participating in
the work of the UN is a challenging task for even the most
skilled of diplomats. For a diplomatic novice, it risks being
an insurmountable hurdle.
The United States needs a skilled and experienced leader to
represent the nation's interests at the United Nations. This
position requires someone who can stand up to the toughest of
adversaries, who can deftly negotiate on a global stage without
compromising our principles, and who can effectively advocate
on behalf of those who do not have a sufficient voice in the
world.
Regrettably, Ambassador Craft is not that individual. While
the Senate may have deemed Ambassador Craft a fine emissary to
serve as one of our ambassadors abroad, she lacks the
qualifications to serve in this particular role, and in a
position so crucial to the security of the United States and
the world.
II. Kelly Craft: Not the Right Choice for U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations
----------
In May 2019, President Trump nominated Kelly Craft to be
the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, approximately seven
months after the resignation of former Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Ambassador Craft is not deserving of the Senate's confirmation
for three main reasons: (1) she does not possess the requisite
credentials, knowledge, or experience to effectively represent
and defend U.S. interests and values at the United Nations; (2)
her absenteeism as U.S. Ambassador to Canada demonstrates a
failure of leadership, a lack of the understanding of the role
of an ambassador vis-a-vis the embassy and host country, and a
lack of commitment to government service; and (3) she has
failed to demonstrate diligence in avoiding financial
conflicts, even involving her husband, the CEO of a major coal
company, in official government meetings related to energy
matters.
A. Lack of Relevant Experience
Since October 2017, Kelly Craft has served as the U.S.
Ambassador to Canada. Prior to that position, Ambassador Craft
had no significant diplomatic or foreign policy experience.
In contrast, previous U.S. Ambassadors to the United
Nations have had deep and proven experience upon nomination.
They have been former senators and governors, accomplished
scholars and diplomats, and included a former Supreme Court
justice. When Thomas Pickering was appointed as Ambassador to
the UN, he had served in four previous posts as an ambassador,
and held more than 15 years of experience in the State
Department's foreign service. Richard Holbrooke had served as
Ambassador to Germany and Assistant Secretary of two regional
bureaus at the State Department. Charles Yost, who preceded
former President George Herbert Walker Bush as U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations, had served more than 30 years as a
career diplomat, including four ambassadorships. Prior to their
appointments, Madeleine Albright and Samantha Power served at
the National Security Council and as a professor of
international affairs and a director of a human rights
initiative, respectively.
Unlike these predecessors, Ambassador Craft's main
qualification is that she, along with her husband, has been a
substantial political donor, contributing more than a million
dollars to Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Before she was
confirmed to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, her only
professional experience was running a small marketing
consulting firm, Kelly G. Knight LLC. Her only prior foreign
policy experience was serving for one session as an alternate
U.S. delegate to the UN, a largely ceremonial role.
Ambassador Craft's performance in the confirmation process
reflected this lack of knowledge and experience. For example,
at her nomination hearing, Ambassador Craft displayed a lack of
depth on key foreign policy issues. When asked about the most
pressing issues the UN faces and how the United States can
leverage the UN to pursue our national foreign policy
priorities, Ambassador Craft did not mention the major crises
or complexities facing the United States today: North Korea's
aggression or nuclear proliferation, threats from Iran, China's
growing influence, Russia's malign influence, the political and
economic meltdown in Venezuela, or the upheaval and turmoil in
Libya. When asked about the two-state solution, which has been
the cornerstone of U.S. policy concerning the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict for years, she could not articulate a
coherent or succinct viewpoint. In response to Senator Cardin's
question about working globally on climate issues, she said
that the United States does not ``need to be a member [of the
Paris climate agreement] in order to show leadership,'' but
could not articulate any other compelling view of U.S.
leadership on climate. While she acknowledged at her hearing
that, ``climate change needs to be addressed,'' she has
previously said, ``I believe there are scientists on both sides
that are accurate.''\1\
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\1\ Kashmira Gander, `` `Both sides of the science': U.S.
ambassador to Canada mocked for climate change stance--again,''
Newsweek, Dec. 7, 2018.
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Supporters of Ambassador Craft primarily cite her
experience in Canada as evidence that she possesses the
experience and preparation to be U.S. Representative to the
United Nations. As discussed in detail below, however, Craft
was absent from her post in Ottawa for a majority of her
tenure. While the daily diplomatic back-and-forth at a major
embassy would certainly be useful preparation to lead the U.S.
Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Craft was more often
than not absent from her post.
B. Excessive Absences from Post
As Ambassador to Canada, Craft's primary obligation was to
serve as the representative of the United States to Canada, and
to build relationships in Canada with government, business,
civil society, and others to advance the U.S.-Canada bilateral
relationship. Serving as ambassador inherently involves
engaging in face-to-face diplomacy. In the words of legendary
diplomat and former U.S. Representative to the UN, Richard
Holbrooke, ``telephoning is necessary but not sufficient.''
Indeed, as chief of mission, an ambassador is responsible for a
number of tasks that are often out of public view: forcefully
representing U.S. interests with host-country interlocutors,
coordinating among a long list of government agencies,
overseeing and managing personnel, and staying abreast of
political, economic, and social developments in the country. At
the same time, ambassadors also have extensive ceremonial and
public diplomacy duties, including representing the United
States in person at host-country events. These duties require
an on-the-ground presence in the host country; dialing-in from
long distance is not sufficient.
The extent to which Ambassador Craft was away from the
embassy--and indeed, outside the country--calls into question
the seriousness with which she undertook the obligations of her
job and undermines the notion that serving in Canada prepared
her for the United Nations. If confronted with unexplained
absenteeism, such as Ambassador Craft's, almost any employer
would question her suitability for continued employment--
promotion to a new job would be out of the question.
Ambassador Craft's inordinate amount of time away from the
embassy and outside Canada was well documented by outside
observers. According to an article in Politico, Ambassador
Craft was viewed by some colleagues as an ``absent ambassador''
who often let deputies run the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa while she
``attended to personal business and domestic politics in the
United States.''\2\ A senior official at the embassy, speaking
with the State Department's authorization, confirmed that
Ambassador Craft had left the embassy in control of a deputy
``more times . . . than perhaps at any other embassy.'' One
Canadian TV journalist said in June 2018--eight months into
Craft's tenure as ambassador--that ``embassy sources whisper''
that she ``is barely engaged in diplomatic connecting and
mostly flying south on her husband's private jet.'' Two
Canadian members of parliament reportedly said that Craft
``kept a lower profile than past ambassadors to the country and
didn't seem as engaged as her predecessors.''\3\
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\2\ Lauren Gardner, ``Trump's U.N. nominee was `absent'
ambassador,'' Politico, June 17, 2019.
\3\ Id.
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Following these questions about Ambassador Craft's time
away from post, Committee staff reviewed Craft's work
calendars, flight logs, and request and approval travel cables
provided by the State Department, covering her tenure (from
October 23, 2017 to June 23, 2019, totaling 608 calendar days).
This review found the following:
Half her time away from Canada: Craft spent nearly a full
year, 357 days, away from Canada, just over 58 percent
of her tenure. Despite Craft's representation at her
confirmation hearing that her travel outside Canada was
to participate in negotiations of the U.S.-Mexico-
Canada trade agreement (USMCA), only a fraction--
approximately 40 days--were due to USMCA meetings.
Seven months in Kentucky and Oklahoma: Craft made over 43
trips to Kentucky or Oklahoma while Ambassador,
spending 210 days (34.5 percent of her time) in states
where she and her spouse have homes.
Traveled without State Department approval: Although Craft
said at her nomination hearing that she always
requested and received approval for her travel, records
show that she spent at least 11 days out of Canada
without State Department approval, including one three-
day trip to Kentucky and repeated unapproved extensions
of existing trips to Kentucky or Oklahoma.
Equivalent of one month in the Trump Hotel: During her
trips to Washington D.C., Craft stayed in the Trump
International Hotel for at least 29 days.
Craft's extensive absences from Canada during her tenure as
Ambassador demonstrate a dereliction of her most basic duties
as the President's representative to a foreign country. Given
her absenteeism, Craft was unable to meet with senior Canadian
officials or lead the efforts of the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa.
This alone should disqualify her from serving as U.S.
Representative to the United Nations.
C. Lack of Diligence in Avoiding Conflicts
As with any government official, avoiding the appearance
and occurrence of any conflicts of interest, as required by
federal law, is paramount. Each nominee before the Committee is
required to submit completed forms detailing all personal
assets, investments, and positions. This enables the agency,
ethics officials, and the Committee to evaluate the existence
of any potential or actual conflicts of interests. Nominees
also submit an ethics agreement negotiated with the relevant
agency. They are expected to know and understand the contents
of their ethics agreements and, if confirmed, are required to
abide by them.
Ambassador Craft's husband, Joe Craft, runs Alliance
Resources Partners, LP--the second-largest coal producer in the
Eastern United States--and has lobbied the U.S. government to
roll back regulations against air and water pollution, among
other environmental protections.\4\ Ambassador Craft provided
all required documents and disclosures to the Committee, and
her ethics agreement includes standard language regarding
recusals involving Alliance Resources Partners.
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\4\ Alliance Resources Partners, About Us, http://www.arlp.com/
about-us; Steve Eder et al., ``A Courtside View of Scott Pruitt's Cozy
Ties with a Billionaire Coal Baron,'' The New York Times, June 2, 2018.
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However, those recusals depend in large part on Ambassador
Craft properly knowing and understanding the extent of her
assets and identifying that a potential conflict exists with
Alliance Resources Partners or with regard to other assets.
Statements by Ambassador Craft at her nomination hearing
suggest that she has not sought to learn the full extent of
those financial interests while in her current position, nor in
preparation for the position for which she has been nominated.
In particular, she was unaware of Alliance Resources Partners'
holdings in oil and gas. When asked whether her family held any
oil and gas interests, Craft replied that, ``I am not aware. I
do not--I do not know what our interest [is].'' Yet Alliance
Resources Partners has acquired multiple oil and gas interests
over the last few years, and the company announced a $145
million agreement to acquire additional oil and gas interests
just days after Ambassador Craft's hearing.\5\
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\5\ Alliance Resources Partners, ``Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.
Announces Agreement to Acquire Permian Basin Oil and Gas Mineral
Interests,'' June 24, 2019.
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Equally troubling was Ambassador Craft's refusal to recuse
herself from all matters related to fossil fuels or climate
change, despite these vast interests. At her hearing, she said,
``we are still waiting for clarity on the fossil fuels, for
that conversation within our ethics agreement.''
Craft's inability to answer basic questions about her
ethical obligations is surprising and disturbing. As Ambassador
to Canada, she has been subject to an ethics briefing and
training. Upon her prior confirmation, she signed statements
that she was fully aware of applicable federal laws governing
financial conflicts of interest. Her apparent lack of knowledge
about the extent of her interests in the energy sector raises
questions about her ability to avoid conflicts of interest.
Agencies and ethics officials rely on individuals to disclose
their interests and assets. If Ambassador Craft was unaware of
her holdings, her subsequent ethics agreements may not have
fully accounted for potential conflicts.
Further, while Ambassador Craft insisted to the Committee
that her husband ``plays no role whatsoever in official U.S.
government business,'' her email and calendar records call that
claim into question. As Ambassador to Canada, Craft
participated in more than a dozen meetings with executives of
energy and oil companies--some of which her spouse attended.
According to Ambassador Craft's calendars, Mr. Craft
participated in a handful of meetings with U.S. and/or Canadian
government energy and environmental officials. In February
2018, for example, Mr. Craft attended a meeting with the CEOs
of the aluminum company Alcoa and mining group Rio Tinto, the
Premier of Quebec, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy. The
next month, March 2018, Mr. Craft joined his wife in a meeting
with the COO of Suncor Energy in Houston, Texas, along with a
State Department special adviser on energy and environment. In
July 2018, he joined in meetings with the Canadian Association
of Petroleum Producers in Calgary.
On at least one occasion, Ambassador Craft used Mr. Craft--
while he was head of Alliance Partners--to assist her in
carrying out a request from the Canadian government regarding
an environmental project. Instead of using official government
channels or embassy employees, she asked Mr. Craft to connect
her to then-Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt. Mr. Craft was also included on a
subsequent email.\6\
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\6\ The Committee also obtained records of Ambassador Craft's
communications with EPA officials that come from a personal email
account. Craft admitted that she has at times used personal email to
conduct official U.S. government business, and on some occasions did
not copy her official email, resulting in possible violations of the
Federal Records Act. However, Ambassador Craft refused to provide any
copies of communications in which she has used a personal email account
to conduct official State Department business. Thus, the Committee was
unable to evaluate the extent to which she may have used personal email
to conduct official business or her compliance with the Federal Records
Act.
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That Ambassador Craft could not clearly articulate her
financial interests or recusal obligations does not inspire
confidence regarding how seriously she takes the obligation to
avoid potential conflicts of interest. Nor is it clear that she
is willing or able to prevent such a conflict from arising
given her lack of knowledge about Alliance Partners' vast
energy-related interests. Her reticence to recuse from all
matters related to climate change or fossil fuels, despite
these interests, is troubling. Based on what she has provided
the Committee, there is little comfort she will take all
necessary steps to avoid the appearance and occurrence of a
conflict.
D. Conclusion
The U.S. Representative to the United Nations is charged
with forcefully representing U.S. interests, negotiating with
the toughest of adversaries, and cultivating strategic
alliances, all on perhaps the most complex world stage. At a
time when the Trump administration is already putting U.S.
global leadership in jeopardy and testing the limits of our
transnational relationships, the U.S. representative at the UN
must be fully prepared to meet these challenges. Ambassador
Craft's lack of relevant experience, failure to carry out her
most basic duties, and the questions surrounding her adherence
to the highest standards regarding potential conflicts of
interest raise serious doubts about her suitability for this
position. Ambassador Craft has neither the experience nor the
skillset to represent U.S. interests or challenge the world's
most seasoned diplomats on the global stage. As such, she
should not be our next representative to the United Nations.
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