Scoop: Rand Paul stalls Mike Waltz nomination for UN ambassador
Why it matters: Paul's resistance to Waltz forced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to delay an expected Wednesday vote on the nomination. The committee is now in recess.
Some Republicans are still hopeful that Paul can be convinced to support Waltz or that one or more Democrats will decide to back him in committee, according to people familiar with the matter.
A key Waltz adviser expressed strong confidence that Waltz would garner bipartisan support in committee.
What he's saying: When asked if he plans to support Waltz, Paul told Axios: "They pulled it for now, we're going to see what happens over the next week."
"If you want to report my opinion," he continued, "I had an exchange in the committee last week — that's probably the best thing to report."
Zoom out: Paul grilled Waltz in his confirmation hearing last week, demanding to know why he tried, as a House member, to force Trump to keep 8,000 troops in Afghanistan.
"The idea that Congress should be involved with declaring war is sort of passé. It's old-fashioned. But when it comes to ending a war, you voted with Liz Cheney and the others to say that the president couldn't end the war," Paul said in a heated exchange.
The intrigue: Some Democrats are privately concerned about who Trump might nominate if Waltz goes down, citing their deep misgivings about other rumored candidates, like Richard Grenell, Trump's ambassador to Germany in his first term.
The bottom line: Waltz still might be reported out of committee in the coming days.
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