Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called President Obama’s choice of Samantha Power to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations a positive choice for our nation and principled American leadership around the world.  If confirmed, Ms. Powers would succeed Ambassador Susan Rice, who now serves as the President’s National Security Advisor.  In advance of today’s committee hearing, Senator Cardin met with Samantha Power one-on-one in late June to discuss her positions on key foreign policy issues.

“Samantha Power has shown herself to be an experienced and tireless advocate of the United States as a principled global leader. I expect that she will help continue to build effective coalitions to promote U.S. interests at the United Nations. As former reporter during the Yugoslav War, she has seen the scourge of war first-hand and it is evident that she shares my passion for promoting human rights and ensuring that we as a nation do all we can to prevent mass atrocities and genocide. Based on our conversation, I also believe that she will be a strong advocate for the Obama Administration’s unwavering support for Israel and a firm voice in the Security Council and General Assembly against aggressor nations like Iran, Syria and North Korea.”

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