Cruz right on Russia, wrong to block diplomats

Sen. Ted Cruz might have gotten part of what he wanted from the U.S. Senate on a planned Russian pipeline to Germany. But in doing so, he put this country’s diplomatic corps and their crucial work at risk. While we sympathize with his motives, we urge him not to repeat this tactic.

The week before Christmas, Cruz ended a months-long campaign to persuade Congress to issue sanctions against Russia for a natural gas pipeline called the Nord Stream 2. Since summer, Cruz has been slow-walking Senate confirmations on dozens of candidates for diplomatic posts in an effort to strong-arm a vote on those sanctions. Cruz dropped the effort on 32 nominees after striking a deal with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who promised a vote on sanctions by Jan. 14.

Make no mistake, Cruz is right about Russia, and the senator has been one of the country’s clearest voices on human freedom abroad. The pipeline, which has completed construction but is not yet in use, will connect Russian gas supplies directly to Germany, which needs that resource. It will be a boon for Russian President Vladimir Putin, giving him more financial resources and more control over the energy market in Europe. Putin has shown an eagerness to manipulate markets for political ends. Diplomats worry that the pipeline will allow him to engage in “energy blackmail.” And now with Russian troops massing on the border with Ukraine, the need for Cruz’s hawkishness is even more pronounced.

The pipeline also strengthens competition with American energy suppliers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, American suppliers exported 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day to Europe in 2020.

The Biden administration seems to agree about the geopolitical danger but has declined to impose sanctions in an effort to protect America’s relationship with Germany.

But even as we find ourselves aligned with Cruz on the foreign policy front, we are deeply concerned about the strategy he is employing to pressure the Senate. The diplomatic appointments in question here have nothing to do with Russia, Germany, Ukraine or energy. Immediately after Cruz relented, the Senate confirmed dozens of diplomats, including Dallas lawyer Marc Stanley as ambassador to Argentina. Those posts are vitally important to American interests. The nation needs a working diplomatic corps, something that was weakened in the last administration.

Coverage by Politico suggests we may not get it, and that Cruz could continue to hold up these appointments.

“Cruz has said he would lift additional holds when and if the bill passes in the Senate and advances to the House and to the president’s desk,” Politico reports.

We expect senators from both parties to support sanctions, especially with environmental groups raising concern about more infrastructure for fossil fuels. If the vote passes, we’ll be glad to see Washington standing up to Moscow. But standing in the way of filling out our diplomatic corps at a time when America’s global influence could not be more essential was the wrong decision.