United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Standing committee
Active

United States Senate
118th Congress
History
Formed1816
Leadership
ChairBen Cardin (D)
Since September 27, 2023
Ranking memberJim Risch (R)
Since February 3, 2021
Structure
Seats21 members
Political partiesMajority (11)
  •   Democratic (11)
Minority (10)
Jurisdiction
Policy areasForeign policy, aid, diplomacy
Oversight authorityDepartment of State
Agency for International Development
House counterpartHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs
Meeting place
423 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.
Website
foreign.senate.gov
Rules

The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a

confirmation hearings for high-level positions in the Department of State.[1] Its sister committee in the House of Representatives is the Committee on Foreign Affairs.[note 1]

Along with the

Warren Harding, John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden (Buchanan and Biden serving as chairman)—and 19 secretaries of state. Notable members have included Arthur Vandenberg, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William Fulbright
.

The Foreign Relations Committee is considered one of the most powerful and prestigious in the Senate, due to its long history, broad influence on U.S. foreign policy, jurisdiction over all diplomatic nominations, and its being the only Senate committee to deliberate and report treaties.[3]

From 2021 to 2023, the Foreign Relations Committee was chaired by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, until he stepped down as chair after facing federal corruption charges.[4]

Role

In 1943, a confidential analysis of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by British scholar

Foreign Office stated:[5]

The Senate of the United States ... keeps a close watch on foreign policy, not merely in theory but in practice. The two-thirds majority of the Senate needed for the ratification of all foreign treaties is only the best known of its powers, but its general control over all legislation and its power of veto over the appointment of ambassadors, and other high public officials, and the influence of its views over public opinion, give it a unique position in the determination of United States foreign policy. The organ within the Senate which moulds this policy is the Foreign Relations Committee, which has in its power to alter, delay and, under certain political circumstances, to veto almost any piece of major policy in this field.

History

Between 1887 and 1907, Alabama Democrat

John Tyler Morgan played a leading role on the committee. Morgan called for a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Nicaragua, enlarging the merchant marine and the Navy, and acquiring Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Cuba. He expected Latin American and Asian markets would become a new export market for Alabama's cotton, coal, iron, and timber. The canal would make trade with the Pacific much more feasible, and an enlarged military would protect that new trade. By 1905, most of his dreams had become reality, with the canal passing through Panama instead of Nicaragua.[6]

Refusing to give the lady [Peace Treaty of Versailles] a seat—by Senators Borah, Lodge and Johnson

During World War II, the committee took the lead in rejecting traditional isolationism and designing a new internationalist foreign policy based on the assumption that the United Nations would be a much more effective force than the old discredited League of Nations. Of special concern was the insistence that Congress play a central role in postwar foreign policy, as opposed to its ignorance of the main decisions made during the war.[7] Republican senator Arthur Vandenberg played the central role.[8]

Committee chairman Senator J. William Fulbright (left) with Senator Wayne Morse during a hearing on the Vietnam War in 1966

In 1966, as tensions over the Vietnam War escalated, the committee set up hearings on possible relations with Communist China. Witnesses, especially academic specialists on East Asia, suggested to the American public that it was time to adopt a new policy of containment without isolation. The hearings Indicated that American public opinion toward China had moved away from hostility and toward cooperation. The hearings had a long-term impact when Richard Nixon became president, discarded containment, and began a policy of détente with China.[9] The problem remained of how to deal simultaneously with the Chinese government on Taiwan after formal recognition was accorded to the Beijing government. The committee drafted the Taiwan Relations Act (US, 1979) which enabled the United States both to maintain friendly relations with Taiwan and to develop fresh relations with China.[10]

In response to conservative criticism that the state department lacked hardliners,

Elliot Abrams
filled the position.

Republican senator Jesse Helms, a staunch conservative, was committee chairman in the late 1990s. He pushed for reform of the UN by blocking payment of U.S. membership dues.[12]

Bertie Bowman served as a staffer on the FRC from 1966 to 1990 and as the hearing coordinator from 2000 to 2021.[13][14]

Members, 118th Congress

Majority[15] Minority[16]
Subcommittees
Subcommittees Chair Ranking Member
Africa and Global Health Policy Cory Booker (D-NJ) Tim Scott (R-SC)
East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Pete Ricketts (R-NE)
Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) John Barrasso (R-WY)
Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
Chris Murphy (D-CT) Todd Young (R-IN)
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development Ben Cardin (D-MD) Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues Tim Kaine (D-VA) Marco Rubio (R-FL)

Chairmen (1816–present)

1976 publication of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the occasion of its 160th anniversary
Chairman Party State Years
James Barbour Democratic-Republican Virginia 1816–1818
Nathaniel Macon Democratic-Republican North Carolina 1818–1819
James Brown
Democratic-Republican Louisiana 1819–1820
James Barbour Democratic-Republican Virginia 1820–1821
Rufus King
Federalist
New York 1821–1822
James Barbour Democratic-Republican Virginia 1822–1825
Nathaniel Macon Democratic-Republican North Carolina 1825–1826
Nathan Sanford Democratic-Republican New York 1826–1827
Nathaniel Macon Democratic-Republican North Carolina 1827–1828
Littleton Tazewell
Democratic
Virginia 1828–1832
John Forsyth
Democratic
Georgia 1832–1833
William Wilkins
Democratic
Pennsylvania 1833–1834
Henry Clay
Whig
Kentucky 1834–1836
James Buchanan
Democratic
Pennsylvania 1836–1841
William C. Rives
Whig
Virginia 1841–1842
William S. Archer
Whig
Virginia 1842–1845
William Allen
Democratic
Ohio 1845–1846
Ambrose H. Sevier
Democratic
Arkansas 1846–1848
Edward A. Hannegan
Democratic
Indiana 1848–1849
Thomas Hart Benton
Democratic
Missouri 1849
William R. King
Democratic
Alabama 1849–1850
Henry S. Foote
Democratic
Mississippi 1850–1851
James M. Mason
Democratic
Virginia 1851–1861
Charles Sumner
Republican
Massachusetts 1861–1871
Simon Cameron
Republican
Pennsylvania 1871–1877
Hannibal Hamlin
Republican
Maine 1877–1879
William W. Eaton
Democratic
Connecticut 1879–1881
Ambrose Burnside
Republican
Rhode Island 1881
George F. Edmunds
Republican
Vermont 1881
William Windom
Republican
Minnesota 1881–1883
John F. Miller
Republican
California 1883–1886
John Sherman
Republican
Ohio 1886–1893
John T. Morgan
Democratic
Alabama 1893–1895
John Sherman
Republican
Ohio 1895–1897
William P. Frye
Republican
Maine 1897
Cushman Davis
Republican
Minnesota 1897–1900
Shelby M. Cullom
Republican
Illinois 1901–1911
Augustus O. Bacon
Democratic
Georgia 1913–1914
William J. Stone
Democratic
Missouri 1914–1918
Gilbert M. Hitchcock
Democratic
Nebraska 1918–1919
Henry Cabot Lodge
Republican
Massachusetts 1919–1924
William E. Borah
Republican
Idaho 1924–1933
Key Pittman
Democratic
Nevada 1933–1940
Walter F. George
Democratic
Georgia 1940–1941
Tom Connally
Democratic
Texas 1941–1947
Arthur H. Vandenberg
Republican
Michigan 1947–1949
Tom Connally
Democratic
Texas 1949–1953
Alexander Wiley
Republican
Wisconsin 1953–1955
Walter F. George
Democratic
Georgia 1955–1957
Theodore F. Green
Democratic
Rhode Island 1957–1959
J. William Fulbright
Democratic
Arkansas 1959–1975
John J. Sparkman
Democratic
Alabama 1975–1979
Frank Church
Democratic
Idaho 1979–1981
Charles H. Percy
Republican
Illinois 1981–1985
Richard Lugar
Republican
Indiana 1985–1987
Claiborne Pell
Democratic
Rhode Island 1987–1995
Jesse Helms
Republican
North Carolina 1995–2001
Joe Biden
Democratic
Delaware 2001
Jesse Helms
Republican
North Carolina 2001
Joe Biden
Democratic
Delaware 2001–2003
Richard Lugar
Republican
Indiana 2003–2007
Joe Biden
Democratic
Delaware 2007–2009
John Kerry
Democratic
Massachusetts 2009–2013
Bob Menendez
Democratic
New Jersey 2013–2015
Bob Corker
Republican
Tennessee 2015–2019
Jim Risch Republican Idaho 2019–2021
Bob Menendez
Democratic
New Jersey 2021–2023
Ben Cardin
Democratic
Maryland 2023–present

Historical committee rosters

117th Congress

Majority Minority
Subcommittees
Subcommittees Chair Ranking Member
Africa and Global Health Policy Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Mike Rounds (R-SD)
East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
Ed Markey (D-MA) Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy Chris Coons (D-DE) Rob Portman (R-OH)
Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
Chris Murphy (D-CT) Todd Young (R-IN)
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development Ben Cardin (D-MD) Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues Tim Kaine (D-VA) Marco Rubio (R-FL)

116th Congress

Majority Minority
Subcommittees Chair Ranking Member
Africa and Global Health Policy Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Tim Kaine (D-VA)
East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
Cory Gardner (R-CO) Ed Markey (D-MA)
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Ron Johnson (R-WI) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
Mitt Romney (R-UT) Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy Todd Young (R-IN) Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development
John Barrasso (R-WY) Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues
Marco Rubio (R-FL) Ben Cardin (D-MD)

115th Congress

Majority Minority
Subcommittees Chair Ranking Member
Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism
Jim Risch (R-ID) Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues
Marco Rubio (R-FL) Ben Cardin (D-MD) since February 6, 2018
Bob Menendez (D-NJ) until February 6, 2018
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Ron Johnson (R-WI) Chris Murphy (D-CT)
Africa and Global Health Policy Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Cory Booker (D-NJ)
East Asia, The Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy
Cory Gardner (R-CO) Ed Markey (D-MA)
Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy Todd Young (R-IN) Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations, and Bilateral International Development
Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

114th Congress

Majority Minority

Sources: 2015 Congressional Record, Vol. 161, Page S297 –297, 661–662

Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism
Jim Risch (R-Idaho) Chris Murphy (D-Conn.)
Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues
Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
Europe and Regional Security Cooperation Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)
Africa and Global Health Policy Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
State Department and USAID Management, International Operations and Bilateral International Development
Rand Paul (R-Ky.) Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
East Asia, The Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy
Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) Ben Cardin (D-Md.)
International Development, Multilateral Institutions and International Economic, Energy and Environmental Policy
John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) Tom Udall (D-N.M.)

113th Congress

Majority Minority

Sources: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S297 –297, 661–662

Officials from the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee inspecting burnt down printing press of Uthayan newspaper in Jaffna on December 7, 2013, while E. Saravanapavan, the managing director of the newspaper explaining something to him.
Subcommittee Chair Ranking Member
International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Rand Paul (R-KY)
East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Ben Cardin (D-MD) Marco Rubio (R-FL)
African Affairs
Chris Coons (D-DE) Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs Tom Udall (D-NM) John McCain (R-AZ)
European Affairs
Chris Murphy (D-CT) Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
Tim Kaine (D-VA) Jim Risch (R-ID)
International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection, and Peace Corps
Tim Kaine (D-VA), until 2013
Ed Markey (D-MA), from 2013
John Barrasso (R-WY)

See also

  • List of current United States Senate committees

Notes

  1. ^ Renamed from Committee on International Relations by the 110th Congress in January 2007.

References

  1. ^ "Committee History & Rules | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations". www.foreign.senate.gov. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Committee History & Rules | United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations". www.foreign.senate.gov. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "12.6 Committees", American Government and Politics in the Information Age, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing edition, 2016. This edition adapted from a work originally produced in 2011 by a publisher who has requested that it not receive attribution., November 16, 2016, archived from the original on October 1, 2023, retrieved January 22, 2021
  4. ^ Bob Menendez steps down as US Senate foreign relations chairman after indictment, September 22, 2023, archived from the original on September 25, 2023, retrieved September 22, 2023
  5. JSTOR 4634869. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on October 21, 2013.
  6. ^ Joseph A. Fry, "John Tyler Morgan's Southern Expansionism," Diplomatic History (1985) 9#4 pp: 329-346.
  7. ^ Roland Young, Congressional Politics in the Second World War (1958), pp 168–96
  8. ^ James A. Gazell, "Arthur H. Vandenberg, Internationalism, and the United Nations." Political Science Quarterly (1973) pp: 375-394. in JSTOR Archived December 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Katherine Klinefelter, "The China Hearings: America's Shifting Paradigm on China," Congress & the Presidency (2011) 38#1 pp: 60-76.
  10. ^ Jacob K. Javits, "Congress And Foreign Relations: The Taiwan Relations Act," Foreign Affairs (1981) 60#1 pp 54-62
  11. .
  12. ^ William A. Link, Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (2008)
  13. ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (October 25, 2023). "Bertie Bowman, revered aide who got start sweeping Capitol steps, dies at 92". Washington Post. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  14. ^ "Bowman, Bertie". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  15. ^ S.Res. 30 (118th Congress)
  16. ^ S.Res. 31 (118th Congress)
  17. ^ Sen. Menendez voluntarily stepped down as Ranking Member on 1 April 2015 after being indicted by the Justice Department. Menendez Gives Up Foreign Relations Post Archived October 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

Primary sources

  • Vandenberg, Arthur Hendrick, and Joe Alex Morris, eds. The private papers of Senator Vandenberg. (1952)

External links