Shaheen breaks glass ceiling on Foreign Relations Committee

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Hill

12/25/24 7:51 AM ET


Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) insists the Senate can chart a bipartisan course on global challenges under President-elect Trump, despite the Republican leader demonstrating his disruptive influence on the party even before reentering the White House.

As the incoming ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen will be a key player in charting that course, and she’ll break ground as the first woman to hold her party’s top position on the panel. Though Trump and his allies are critical of sending U.S. dollars abroad, Shaheen is adamant that she can count on some of her Republican colleagues to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia and bolster deterrence to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I think in the Senate, there is strong bipartisan support for Ukraine, for trying to help Ukraine be in the strongest possible position for any negotiation on the war,” she said in a phone call with The Hill last week. “There is a lot of bipartisan agreement on the need to address China’s efforts to undermine the United States; Iran, North Korea, are all watching what’s happening in Ukraine. They’re taking lessons from how the United States responds.”

The 77-year-old looks back to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the 1960s and ‘70s as being the heyday of influence — citing the impact of the five-year Fulbright hearings scrutinizing the Vietnam War. “The Foreign Relations Committee was really important in directing foreign policy in the United States and its oversight responsibility for the Department of State, and I would hope that we can move it in that direction again,” she said.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/international/5050962-shaheen-senate-foreign-relations/

[angrychair]

1. I know people complain about ageism

But I didn't think it's too much to ask that we have people that under 70 running some of these committees.
She is 77. No matter the spin you put on it, no one has the memory, patience and energy to do such a high demand job in their late 70s.

[mahina]

2. All those pesky elections

[angrychair]

3. People are free to elect anyone they want

But that doesn't mean we have to put them as chair or vice-chairperson of some of the most impactful and important committees in Congress.

Did you follow that story of the Republican House member that resigned the chair of the Appropriations Committee in March of 2024 but it was already obvious something was wrong before that. How long was her staff covering for her? She totally disappeared in June and disappeared completely for 6 months until a reporter found out she had been admitted to a dementia ward.
Her family and staff hide that for 6 months. She is 81 yrs old. How much and how often are staff and leadership covering for people?
Not saying that they don't have valuable experience but I'm much younger than them and already taking my name out of the conversation for leadership roles because I feel it should go to others that are younger and a little further from retirement. I just don't want to be bothered at my age.

[mopinko]

4. they covered up for feinstein too.

[Voltaire2]

7. Came here to point out that she is at the end of her career.

Elevating the senior brigade to these positions does nothing to change the perspective that our party is run by a gerontocracy.

[delisen]

8. Yes Mick Jagger should be forced off stage. Give younger artists a chance!

New Rule: no one should be treated as an individual. Each person should be viewed only as a member of whichever caste we can assign them to.

It would be easier if we would erase some of the longevity gains we made in the last century. If we can get more people to check out earlier there will be more room at the top for younger people. No more Medicare and end health insurance after age 60.
Joking aside:
Actually I think we will be seeing some big changes in leadership. later in 2025. I believe AOC will be moving up to committee leadership.
But I do credit many older office holders with valuable institutional memory and great patience. The value to me of younger leadership is new perspectives and identification with the part of our population that is feeling not represented.

[Icanthinkformyself]

5. Just what we don't need,

more appeasement. Her hopes are false. Republicans are snakes and can't be trusted. We need Democratic leaders who understand the opposition has no morals or ethics. Neville Chamberlain's idea didn't work in 1939 and it won't work now.