The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate accepted three ambassadors that President Donald Trump chose. They will be stationed in the UK, Turkey, and Italy, respectively.
Warren Stephens, Tom Barrack, and Tilman Feritta are all billionaires who give a lot of money to Trump and other Republicans. They all got some votes from Democrats, just like all Republicans did.
The Senate voted 59 to 39 earlier this week to make Stephens the new ambassador to the UK and Northern Ireland.
Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas’s Republican Party stepped out in favor of Stephens, an investment banker from his home state. He called him a “family man, businessman, philanthropist, and patriot.”
Cotton stated, “He is the right person to lead our strong, special relationship with the UK.”
Until January, Stephens was the President and CEO of Stephens Inc., an investment banking company based in Little Rock.
Federal Election Commission records show that Stephens gave $1 million to “Our Principles PAC,” a group that was against Trump’s first run for president.
But in 2019 and 2020, he gave money to groups that supported Trump. In 2024, he gave $3 million to MAGA Inc., the main Super PAC that backed Trump, according to FEC documents.
“Warren has always wanted to work for the United States full time. As the top diplomat for the U.S.A., he will now have the chance to do that, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most respected and cherished allies, Trump said in December.
The Senate voted 60-36 to confirm Barrack, a private equity executive and longstanding Trump loyalist.
Barrack and Trump have been friends since the 1980s. Before starting Colony Capital, a private equity firm, he worked for the Reagan government. He helped Trump’s campaign in 2016 and was in charge of his inaugural committee in 2017.
In July 2021, the Department of Justice charged Barrack with being an unregistered lobbyist for the UAE. He said he had nothing to do with it and was found not guilty in November 2022.
The Senate voted 83 to 14 to make Fertitta the US ambassador to Italy.
Fertitta is the CEO of Landry’s, a hospitality company that runs restaurants, hotels, casinos, and other entertainment venues. Trump selected him to the job in December of last year. He is also the owner of the Houston Rockets, an NBA team.
This comes after the federal government has been closed for 30 days.
A month ago, the GOP-controlled House enacted a clean funding measure, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has told Senate Democrats not to back it.
Some Democrats have gone against him, but not enough have joined all 53 Republicans to meet the 60-vote barrier needed to pass the bill and send it to the president.
In 2010, Schumer and the Democrats enacted Obamacare without a single Republican vote. Since then, they have been voting to use tax dollars to help pay for the program.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, Democrats extended subsidies but decided to put a time restriction on them. They will finish in December.
Republican leaders have announced they are eager to talk about new subsidies for Obamacare, which Democrats boasted ten years ago would finally “fix” the country’s healthcare system. However, they won’t do so until a clean continuing resolution to reopen the government is enacted.
In addition to Obamacare subsidies, Democrats have also been asking for about $1.5 trillion in new spending. Most of this money would go to programs that the GOP has already cut.
At the same time, the public relations tide has shifted against Schumer and his party because of the shutdown.
This week, CNN admitted that the extended standoff has actually helped Republicans politically.
