Senate blocks US Ambassador to Tirana candidate

According to assistants at the US Senate's Commission for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Kathleen Ann Cavalec's candidacy, named as US ambassador to Tirana, has returned to President Donald Trump on Thursday.

Mrs. Cavalec was appointed by President Trump in July 2018, and since then, her candidacy has been pending to be confirmed by the Senate Commission.
Mrs. Cavalec, was scheduled to go to a Senate session in September as part of the confirmation process, but eventually failed to testify and the name was removed from the session announcement.

A week before the hearing her name was mentioned in an article in the Washington Examiner newspaper dealing with communications of a Justice Department official with former British agent Christophet Steele. Steele handed over to American intelligence agencies a report on possible Trump campaign connections with the Russians.

Mrs. Cavalec's name still figures on the White House page as being named for the post.

Under Senate rules, when the waiting time for confirmation is over 30 days, candidacy is returned to the president, but the Senate commission can bypass this rule by a consensual vote.

Mrs. Cavalec's candidacy has been one of the most long-awaited cases of confirmation from those presented to the Senate Commission.

It is not clear why the Senate Commission has not considered candidacy. / VOA