President Bush Installs John R. Bolton as UN Ambassador Via Recess Appointment

Strategic Insights -

President Bush, bypassing the Senate, installed John R. Bolton as the US ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, citing the six-month vacancy of the post. This move has been met with strong Democratic opposition, who argue that it's an abuse of power and undermines the credibility of the United States. The appointment brings to an end a five-month standoff between the White House and Senate Democrats, who held up Mr. Bolton's confirmation due to allegations of him manipulating intelligence and bullying subordinates.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US has filled the UN ambassador post using a recess appointment for the first time since the UN's founding in 1945.
  • The appointment has been met with strong Democratic opposition, citing it as an abuse of power and undermining the credibility of the US.
  • Mr. Bolton has been accused of manipulating intelligence to conform to his hawkish ideology and bullying subordinates.
  • The appointment has been criticized by Senate Democrats, with Senator Harry Reid describing it as "the latest abuse of power by the Bush White House."
  • Mr. Bolton has taken a hard line against nuclear proliferation, but administration officials have said that he would carry out the views of Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice, and not make his own policy.
  • The appointment has significant implications, as the US is currently threatening to take Iran to the Security Council to seek punishment if Tehran moves forward with its nuclear program.
  • President Bush praised Mr. Bolton as a man who "believes passionately in the goals of the United Nations Charter, to advance peace and liberty and human rights."
  • Mr. Bolton will remain in the job until the end of the current Congress in late 2006, when he could be renominated.
  • The appointment has been seen as a show of force by President Bush, who is determined to stand up to Congress.
  • Mr. Voinovich, a Republican senator from Ohio, has offered to send Mr. Bolton a book on effective management, suggesting that he may have concerns about Mr. Bolton's behavior.
  • Democratic aides in Congress have acknowledged that there is little their party can do beyond criticizing the appointment.
  • Mr. Bolton is the highest-ranking of the 106 people that Mr. Bush has put into jobs by recess appointment during five and a half years in office.

Statistics:

  • The US has gone for more than six months without an ambassador to the United Nations.
  • The US is currently threatening to take Iran to the Security Council to seek punishment if Tehran moves forward with its nuclear program.
  • Mr. Bolton will remain in the job until the end of the current Congress in late 2006.
  • 106 people have been put into jobs by recess appointment by Mr. Bush during five and a half years in office.
  • 42 Senate Democrats, including a Republican, had held up Mr. Bolton's confirmation.
  • The recess appointment is the first time since the UN's founding in 1945 that the US has filled the UN ambassador post using this method.

Sources:

  • The New York Times
  • Associated Press
  • Congressional Research Service