Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Gordon Sondland‘s ambassadorship to the European Union reflects corrupt practices in Washington, D.C., citing the hotel executive’s $1 million donation to the Trump inaugural effort as proof he effectively bought the post.
But Warren, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, raised no objections to Sondland’s nomination when he came up for Senate confirmation in July 2018.
Warren, 70, spoke extensively about Sondland’s qualifications Wednesday at the Democratic debate in Washington. Sondland, 62, had spent the bulk of the day testifying before the House Intelligence Committee about whether his boss, President Trump, had improperly tried to dig up political dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, by delaying delivery of military aid to Ukraine.
“How did Ambassador Sondland get there? You know, this is not a man who had any qualifications, except one: He wrote a check for a million dollars,” Warren said. “And that tells us about what’s happening in Washington, the corruption, how money buys its way into Washington.”
Sondland’s nomination was championed at the time by a number of Democrats, including Sen. Ron Wyden.
“At a time when lots of politics is polarized and divisive, Gordon Sondland is going to be a really good fit,” the Oregon Democrat said. “He’s going to speak with real impact.”
When he was nominated to be U.S. ambassador to the EU, Sondland was confirmed through a voice vote, meaning there was unanimous consent in the Senate. A simple objection from Warren, despite belonging to the minority party, could have triggered a formal vote and caused further deliberations as well as getting every lawmaker on the record.
Unanimous consent requires all 100 senators to agree on the motion and effectively means an absence of opposition.
Warren’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Congressional records show Warren was in the Senate that day, where she cast three other roll call votes. But Warren’s physical presence during Sondland’s nomination wasn’t necessary either. She could have simply asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to object on her behalf.
On Thursday, Warren released a digital ad attacking Trump’s nomination of Sondland as an example of “Washington corruption at its worst.”
“When I become president, that stops. I’m the only candidate running who has made this promise,” she says in the ad. “I’ll never give ambassadorships to unqualified donors because they wrote me fat checks.”
Warren announced the pledge not to give wealthy donors an ambassadorship in June as part of her “plan to rebuild the State Department,” and said she’d only appoint individuals with the best qualifications.
“This president may think a fat wallet and a big campaign check qualifies someone to represent our country abroad,” Warren wrote. “I don’t.”
During the Obama administration, Warren regularly voted to confirm a number of donors to diplomatic posts who were nominated by the president in large part due to big campaign donations.
In February 2014, Warren voted to confirm Noah Mamet, who raised millions of dollars for Obama’s reelection campaign, to the post of ambassador to Argentina — though Mamet had never been to the country before.
Other big Obama donors won administration ambassadorships to Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the EU, among others.
