WASHINGTON, Feb 12 - President Donald Trump's nominee to oversee U.S. relations with multilateral institutions, Jeremy Carl, faced a major setback on Thursday when Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah declared he will oppose the nomination.
The assistant secretary of state for international organizations role manages the United States' relationship with entities such as the United Nations. Carl, currently a senior fellow at the conservative Claremont Institute and a former deputy assistant secretary of the interior in the first Trump administration, has been in the spotlight for months over a range of past statements and online posts.
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Carl was pressed about remarks related to Jewish people and to immigration. After the hearing, Curtis issued a statement explaining his decision:
"I find his anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people unbecoming of the position for which he has been nominated."
Curtis' announcement, first reported by a Utah news outlet, was echoed by a White House official who said Carl remains the administration's nominee. Still, Curtis' opposition makes Carl's approval by the committee unlikely and imperils his confirmation even though Republicans hold the Senate majority.
During questioning, the committee examined a podcast exchange in which Carl responded to the host's critique of Jewish people for "claiming special victim status" because of the Holocaust with the words, "Right, right yeah." Curtis cited that exchange in explaining his concerns.
Democrats on the committee have been uniformly critical. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey asked Carl about his past reference to the so-called "Great Replacement" theory, which posits that non-white immigrants will replace white citizens. Carl replied that the phrase described the "international demographic replacement of Europeans in Europe." When Booker asked whether Carl believed there is currently "an effort to replace Americans," Carl said, "I think the Democratic party, through its immigration policies, has certainly sent signs of that."
Questions about Carl's commentary and online activity have circulated for months. Media reporting in September noted that Carl had attempted to remove at least 5,000 comments from his account on X.com, including material described as inflammatory on racial issues. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York spoke against the nomination earlier this week, asserting Carl had a "long history of racist, white supremacist and antisemitic views."
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is composed of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats. With every Democrat expected to oppose, Curtis’ defection leaves the committee short of likely approval. While the full Senate can consider a nomination without a favorable committee vote, that route is rare. The current Republican majority in the Senate stands at 53-47.
Jim Risch of Idaho, the committee's Republican chairman, is reported to back the president's nominees. A spokesperson for Risch said he supported all of the president's nominees. The White House has maintained that Carl remains its choice for the post despite the objections raised at the hearing and in subsequent statements.
Context and procedural implications
The assistant secretary position supervises U.S. engagement with international organizations, a portfolio that hearing members indicated requires a nominee whose views will not hinder cooperation. Committee opposition from a member of the president’s own party is notable because it makes a favorable committee vote and customary path to confirmation more difficult.
Should the committee decline to advance the nomination, it remains possible, though unlikely, that the full Senate would take up the nomination without committee approval. The rarity of that procedural move, combined with the narrow Republican majority, underscores the uncertain trajectory of Carl's confirmation.
Bottom line
Jeremy Carl's confirmation is now uncertain after a Republican committee member publicly opposed his nomination citing statements about Jewish people and views on immigration and Israel. With unified Democratic opposition expected and the committee narrowly controlled by Republicans, the nomination faces steep hurdles.