Ex-UN Envoy Power Advances To Senate Consideration As US Aid Chief - Committee Vote

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved former Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power's candidacy for the next director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in a nationally televised voice vote on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th April, 2021) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved former Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power's candidacy for the next director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in a nationally televised voice vote on Thursday.

The voice vote was approved as unanimous and Power's nomination will now advance for consideration by the full Senate.

In her testimony on Tuesday, Power pledged to promote multilateralization of the Magnitsky sanctions against corruption and human rights abuses and ensure as many countries as possible adopt similar legal mechanisms.

Power also promised to make anti-corruption work "a huge priority" and said that broader efforts to counter the decline of democracies will top the immediate USAID agenda along with addressing the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and conflicts around the world.

President Joe Biden picked Power to head the USAID before his inauguration on January 20. Biden also elevated the USAID administrator position by making its future chief a member of the National Security Council. Power served as the US ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017.