Daily Archives: May 31, 2017

Political Cartoonists Around the World Take On #POTUSAbroad

May 31, 2017 By in Foreign Affairs, Media, Social Media, Trends, Trump Tags: , , , 1 Comment

Posted: 1:23 am ET
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Trump Nominates Erin Walsh to be Director General of the Foreign Commercial Service

May 31, 2017 By in Federal Agencies, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, Staffing the FS, Top Ranks, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: , , ,

Posted:1:08 am ET
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President Trump recently nominated Erin Walsh, a member of the Trump’s presidential transition team and part of the landing team at the State Department to be Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce and Director General of the Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) (seeTrump Transition: Additional Agency Landing Team Members For @StateDept).  Her bio posted on theantiquitiescoalition.org notes that she served previously as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department (State/NEA). The White House released the following brief bio:

President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate Elizabeth Erin Walsh to the Department of Commerce.

If confirmed, Elizabeth Erin Walsh of the District of Columbia will serve as Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service, Department of Commerce. Ms. Walsh currently serves as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director for Presidential Personnel. She has had an extensive career in the international arena in both the private and public sectors. Ms. Walsh has served more than 12 years in the Federal Government, including at the Department of State, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and the Department of Energy. She also worked at the United Nations, serving 18 months in Bosnia, during the war. At the Department of State, Ms. Walsh was a senior advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Ms. Walsh has spent 12 years in the private sector at Cisco and Goldman Sachs. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and International Relations from Georgetown University and a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

 

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SFRC Clears Scott P. Brown’s Nomination to be Ambassador to New Zealand

May 31, 2017 By in Ambassadors, Hearings, Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, SFRC, Trump, U.S. Senate Tags: , , ,

Posted: 12:51 am ET
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On May 17, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) held a confirmation hearing for Scott Brown’s nomination to be  U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as U.S. Ambassador to The Independent State Of Samoa.  The prepared testimony as well as the video of the hearing is available to download here.

On May 25, the SFRC cleared the former senator’s nomination which will now go to the full Senate for a vote.

Below is the Certificate of Demonstrated Competence prepared for the SFRC and made available by the State Department:

SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service

Act, Section 304(a)(4)

POST: New Zealand and Independent State of Samoa

CANDIDATE: Scott Philip Brown

Scott P. Brown is a prominent politician, political analyst, and attorney. He has more than 30 years in public service, most recently serving as a United States Senator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was a member of the Armed Services, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and the Veterans’ Affairs Committees. He served as both an enlisted man and as an officer in the Massachusetts and Maryland National Guard. He retired as a Colonel after 35 years of service, the last four of which were at the Pentagon. Currently, while maintaining his law practice he is also a contracted contributor and analyst for Fox National News. He travels extensively speaking before colleges, businesses, trade associations, and financial and government advocacy groups globally. Senator Brown’s extensive experience in municipal, state, and federal government, his military leadership positions, business activities, and his employment for more than 30 years as an attorney, coupled with his many philanthropic endeavors, make him very well-qualified to serve as Ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa.

Senator Brown worked as an attorney for Nixon Peabody, LLP, Boston, MA (2013-14). He served on the Board of Directors and as an Advisor to Kadant, Inc., Westford, MA (2013- 2015) and as an advisor to 1st Alliance Lending, LLP, East Hartford, CT (2014-2015) . He also is an Advisor to SkyBridge Capital, New York, NY (since 2014) and to Ron Terwilliger Housing Foundation, Vienna, VA (since 2015). His businesses include managing S&G Realty, S&G Realty Ventures and S&G Media (since 2013). He was an Assessor (1987-1990) and Selectman (1994-1998) for the Town of Wrentham, MA. He served as Massachusetts State Representative for the 9th Norfolk District (1998-2005) and as State Senator for the Norfolk, Bristol, and Middlesex District (2005-2010).

He earned a B.A. from Tufts University, Medford, MA (1981) and a J.D. from Boston College Law School, Newton Centre, MA (1985). He has Honorary Doctorates from Lasell College (Humanitarian Letters) and Nichols College (Public Administration).

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