Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D.N.H.) said that even though Republican leaders under President-elect Trump had shown destructive influence on the party even before their return to the White House, the Senate remains a global leader. He argued that bipartisan policy could be developed on important issues.
As the next ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Shaheen will play a key role in shaping its direction and break new ground as the first woman to hold the top position on the party's committee.
While President Trump and his allies have been critical of sending U.S. dollars overseas, Shaheen is among some of his Republican colleagues who support Ukraine's fight against Russia and strengthen deterrence against Chinese President Xi Jinping. is adamant that you can rely on it.
“I think there's strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the Senate,” he said in a phone conversation with The Hill last week. ” he said.
“There's a lot of bipartisan agreement about the need to address China's efforts to undermine the United States. Iran, North Korea are all watching what's happening in Ukraine. They are learning lessons from the US response.”
The 77-year-old recalled the 1960s and 1970s as the heyday of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's influence, citing the influence of the five years of Fulbright hearings that scrutinized the Vietnam War.
“The Foreign Relations Committee is critical to directing U.S. foreign policy and the State Department's oversight responsibilities, and I look forward to being able to move in that direction again,” she said.
Does she have a partner across the aisle?
Mr. Shaheen has a visibly warm relationship with incoming committee chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and he hopes to make the committee more flexible and responsive to global developments and approve ambassadors, especially career diplomats. He said they had talked about prioritizing the
The issue has become a major area of partisan debate after dozens of President Biden's ambassadorial nominees in 2024 were left unconfirmed as Democrats and Republicans on the committee seek accountability. .
“Everyone in the Senate has withheld votes on something in order to get something else. That's how it works here, because that's the power that individual senators have,” Risch said. He told The Hill in September when asked about the stalled nomination.
But Mr. Risch and Mr. Shaheen publicly promised to act quickly on President Trump's pick for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
Still, many of Mr. Shaheen's Republican colleagues are certain to support Mr. Trump's position that the United States provides too much aid overseas and should withdraw from global conflicts.
last month, 37 Senate Republicans Voted to cancel $5 billion in loan forgiveness for Ukraine. Among them was Mr. Rishu, who has often said he “strongly agrees” with Mr. Shaheen on priorities such as Ukraine.
Shaheen said passing Biden's November request for $24 billion in Ukraine-related aid “remains a priority for the Senate,” but added that the incoming Trump administration and the Republican Party's power in Washington, D.C. He admitted that there is no clear path forward regarding the “three-way relationship.”
The president-elect has said Ukraine should “probably” expect U.S. aid cuts, and some advisers have suggested using U.S. aid to bring Kiev to negotiations with Russia.
Mr. Shaheen may be trying to influence Mr. Trump, his allies in Congress, or outside influences such as billionaire Elon Musk, whose Starlink satellite internet has become a key communications tool for the Ukrainian military and the United States' distant allies. He did not address the question of whether there was a strategy to counter this. and an isolated place.
Speaking about Musk a day after he successfully lobbied Trump to oppose short-term funding deals days before the government shutdown deadline, Shaheen said Musk's influence has been “pretty disruptive so far.” It has been proven that.”
Under Musk's influence, Trump also opposed a one-year extension of the State Department's Global Engagement Center, which was created with bipartisan support and is tasked with countering foreign influence and propaganda. expressed. Musk criticized the agency for censorship.
“He doesn't seem to understand the challenge we face in the United States with disinformation and disinformation, a problem that lags behind our adversaries China, Russia, and even Iran. Or they seem apathetic.’ That’s the role of the Global Engagement Center,” Shaheen said.
“She's stubborn.”
Senate colleagues and former staffers on both sides of the aisle have labeled Mr. Shaheen a serious lawmaker, a “work horse” rather than a “show horse,” but Mr. Shaheen pushes back even in the face of obstruction from his colleagues. He said he would be “brave”.
“She's persistent in achieving a goal or achieving something that she sets for herself. She does have a brave side to her,” said Shaheen's chief executive when she was governor of New York. said Rich Siegel, who served as his aide. hampshire
“She always involves me in calls with elected leaders and world leaders in Europe, and I really appreciate that,” said the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee. said Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska). Europe, chaired by Mr. Shaheen.
“Obviously, these issues are not necessarily partisan and represent the interests of the United States, but as we speak with world leaders, she made sure that it was a bipartisan effort.” You are doing a great job.”
Aljeen Sagely, director of Democratic Policy on the Foreign Relations Committee from 2015 to 2018 and director of the Women's Leadership Council in National Security, said Shaheen is “the epitome” of what is needed to counter partisan tensions. He said that.
“I think a lot of people on committees and in the Senate, on both sides, really care about people and really care about people. … But they let partisanship drive policy, and it doesn't really matter to either side. “I see it as such,” she said.
“I was just in awe of that woman,” Sagely said of Shaheen.
“She can listen to both sides and seriously solve problems. She is exactly what she needs to lead this Senate on good national security, foreign policy, legal and policy positions. He’s the person we need.”
break down barriers
Groundbreaking Ms. Shaheen is the first woman to hold a senior position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in its 209-year history. This follows her accomplishments as the first woman elected as New Hampshire's governor and the first woman to hold the honors of governor and U.S. senator in the state.
Shaheen has not announced whether he will run for re-election in 2026. That would put her in position to become the first female Foreign Relations Committee chair if Democrats flip the Senate.
She told Semaphore she plans to wait and see how the next two years go.
“Is there an opportunity to move things forward to address the concerns that we feel around the world regarding humanitarian issues?” she told the outlet.
Shaheen is often at the forefront of criticizing the lack of focus on women's and girls' rights globally, and is not afraid to criticize her mostly male colleagues from time to time.
“Every time you see a woman in the title, you think we're talking about reproductive rights. … Women have so much more to do than bear children!” Shaheen, a Republican colleague, said. reprimanded on the Senate floor in 2022.is trying to move forward with Biden's stalled confirmation of her nomination to be ambassador for global women's issues.
“That office is about how to provide economic empowerment for women and issues that affect women. … There should be room for agreement on these issues,” she said. He spoke on the phone with The Hill.
“We know that when women are empowered, they give back more financially to their families, communities and countries than men, and that countries with empowered women tend to be more stable. I know.”
Shaheen said that to stop any efforts that threaten women's participation and representation, such as Trump-era rules that block U.S. funding around the world to organizations that might provide information about abortion, He said there was a need for vigilance. Mr. Biden has repealed the expanded “global gag rule,” but Mr. Trump is likely to push for its re-implementation.
“I think we're going to continue to disagree on this, because I think their policies are wrong,” Shaheen said.
Another example of her work across the aisle is in 2017 when she worked with Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to create a permanent It sponsored the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act. Repeal the global gag rule. Shaheen and Mukavsky reintroduced the bill in 2023, but it never passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
But one of her signature bills is the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, which would require the U.S. government to increase its commitment to foreign policy and national security efforts, including conflict prevention, peace negotiations, and conflict prevention. Becoming a global leader in promoting women's participation has become a priority. democratic institutions.
She cites her favorite statistic. from the United Nationswomen's participation in peace negotiations increases the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years by 35 percent.
Shaheen is one of two women on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since joining the committee in 2009. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) overlapped with Shaheen until she resigned in 2017. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D) overlapped with Shaheen. Illinois) joined the Commission in 2023.
Ms Shaheen said her inclusion in the ranking was important because “when it comes to things like foreign policy, there is an important perspective of recognizing the role that women play globally.”
