Latest news with #TammyDuckworth
South China Morning Post
15-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Mount Fuji rescue, Trump's pick for Singapore envoy, Mahathir turns 100: 7 Asia highlights
We have selected seven stories from the SCMP's coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Two Americans have had to be rescued from Japan's Mount Fuji in separate incidents before the official climbing season began, prompting renewed calls for tougher penalties on rule-breaking hikers who endanger themselves and drain local resources. Anjani Sinha at his Senate confirmation hearing. Photo: C-Span US President Donald Trump's ambassador-nominee to Singapore, orthopaedic surgeon Anjani Sinha, has drawn online backlash following a grilling at his confirmation hearing, with Senator Tammy Duckworth accusing him of not doing his 'homework'.
The National
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Mike Waltz faces grilling in bid to become next US envoy to UN
Mike Waltz, the nominee for US ambassador to the UN, will appear at Capitol Hill this week in what is expected to be a contentious confirmation hearing focusing on American foreign policy and his conduct while national security adviser. President Donald Trump removed Mr Waltz from that role in May, following revelations that he had added a journalist to a Signal chat group in which military plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen were being discussed. Mr Waltz's move to the UN was widely seen as a demotion, particularly given the Trump administration's disdain for many of the world body's functions. The administration also accuses the UN of anti-Israel bias. Mr Waltz, who retired from the National Guard at the rank of colonel and served three terms as Republican congressman, did not have to go through a confirmation process to become national security adviser. Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee running Tuesday's confirmation hearing, predicted Mr Waltz would face tough questioning. 'It will be a brutal, brutal hearing,' she told CBS in May. 'He's not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain.' Mr Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to work as interim national security adviser. If confirmed, Mr Waltz will be joined by Morgan Ortagus at the UN. She until recently served as deputy special envoy to the Middle East and was overseeing the Lebanon portfolio. 'Morgan Ortagus has joined the US Mission to the United Nations to advise on policy, and she continues to liaise with the White House and senior officials in Washington,' a State Department representative told The National. Mr Waltz would replace former president Joe Biden's UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who faced backlash for vetoes of humanitarian resolutions for Gaza. Since resuming office on January 20, Mr Trump has withdrawn US participation in the UN Human Rights Council, continued the suspension of funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, and initiated a review of the UN cultural agency Unesco. Mr Trump has also declared US intentions to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's ‘Unqualified' Friend Humiliated During Senate Confirmation to Key Ambassador Post
President Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to Singapore faced a heated grilling in his Senate confirmation hearing in which he struggled to answer questions about the city-state. It took barely ten minutes for Dr. Anjani Sinha—who is not an expert in global affairs or trade, but an orthopaedic and sports surgeon who owns a chain of practices on the East Coast—to reveal his apparent lack of knowledge about Singapore as he melted down live on television, in a clip that has now gone around the world. Facing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Indian-born Florida-based doctor boasted he was a 'lifelong bridge builder.' Seemingly unconvinced that this, or his background, made Dr. Sinha qualified for such a crucial post, Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth went to town. Duckworth asked Dr. Sinha if he knew the size of the United States trade surplus with Singapore. Dr. Sinha initially guessed $80 billion, before revising it to $18 billion. Duckworth informed him it was actually $2.8 billion. Not a great start. Next, Duckworth asked Dr. Sinha about Trump's looming 10 percent tariff on Singaporean goods, and how he would sell it to Singapore. Dr. Sinha meandered through half-sentences before landing on a shrug: 'The dialogue is not closed. The door is not closed.' Smelling blood, Duckworth pressed harder. 'When is Singapore going to be the ASEAN chair?' she asked, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc. Dr. Sinha didn't know. It's 2027, he was informed by Duckworth. 'What does holding the chairmanship entail for Singapore? Can you name one thing?' Duckworth pressed. At first, Duckworth's question was met with silence—before Dr. Sinha responded with incoherent filler, leading the combat-veteran senator to unload on the gormless clinician. 'I just feel you are not taking this seriously,' she snapped. 'You think this is a glamour posting—that you're going to live a nice life in Singapore—when what we need is someone who can actually do the work.' Describing him as 'unqualified' for the key role, she went on: 'You are not currently prepared for this posting, period, and you need to shape up and do some homework.' The exchange detonated on Singaporean social media, where the BBC reported that one viewer quipped Sinha was 'more Embarassador than ambassador.' Another asked whether Trump's tariff or Trump's envoy was the bigger insult. Yet despite his real-time humiliation, the nominee's prospects remain very much alive. Republican Lindsey Graham—who introduced Sinha as 'a friend of President Trump for over a decade'—controls the committee's gavel, and the GOP's Senate majority means party-line votes can still hand the surgeon the keys to America's most strategic outpost in Southeast Asia. Donald Trump hailed Sinha as a 'highly respected entrepreneur' when he nominated him in March. The U.S. Department of State went further still, saying in May that with 'his deep social and cultural ties to the Indo-Pacific region, Dr. Sinha is uniquely positioned to relate to its key stakeholders [and] his appreciation for Singapore's role as a financial him well qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore.' The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Independent Singapore
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
‘More embarassador than ambassador.' Donald Trump's pick for envoy to SG roasted online
SINGAPORE: United States President Donald Trump's choice for ambassador to Singapore had a humiliating time before the Senate earlier this week. 'I'm trying to help you here,' Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth told Dr Anjani Sinha, an orthopaedic and sports surgeon Mr Trump handpicked for the position. 'But you haven't even done your homework.' Ms Duckworth asked Dr Sinha a series of questions regarding Singapore's economy, the US Navy's work with Singapore, and when the city-state will chair the ASEAN, which the would-be envoy visibly struggled to answer. This resulted in the Senator telling him: 'You are not taking this seriously. You think this is a glamour posting. You think that you're going to live a nice life in Singapore, but what we need is someone who's actually going to do the work.' @thechillicrap Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth reprimands Dr. Anjani Sinha after the US ambassador to Singapore nominee fails to answer questions on the country and its ties with the US during a Senate hearing… #singaporetiktok #tiktoksingapore #tiktoksg #tarrifs ♬ original sound – thechillicrap – thechillicrap The senator underlined how important Singapore is to the United States, especially in the region, in the context of the tensions between the US and China. Ms Duckworth told Dr Sinha, 'I want to reinforce for you again right now. You are not currently prepared for this posting. Period. And you need to shape up and do some homework.' As the clip of Dr Sinha's grilling was shared on social media, some commenters took to calling him more of an 'embarassador than ambassador.' 'Anjani Sinha has absolutely zero expertise or experience in international relations or diplomacy whatsoever,' a Facebook user noted. Another wrote, 'Jialut la. As an HR practitioner, this is a big FAIL for an interview. The end of US supremacy is near.' Dr Sinha, a staunch supporter of the Republican Party in the US, was nominated for the post by Mr Trump in March, which means he's certainly had ample time to prepare for the ambassadorship to Singapore. In a post on Truth Social , the US President wrote, 'I have no doubt that Anji will strongly represent our Nation's interests, and put America first. Congratulations, Anji!' He is said to have been friends with Mr Trump for over 10 years, according to an introduction from Senator Lindsey Graham. In May, the U.S. Department of State touted Dr Sinha's 'deep social and cultural ties to the Indo-Pacific region' and wrote that he is 'uniquely positioned to relate to its key stakeholders.' 'His appreciation for Singapore's role as a financial hub, and his own business expertise — particularly in the life sciences and healthcare sectors – render him well qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Singapore,' it added. Despite Dr Sinha's poor showing this week and the backlash that ensued online, he is still likely to be confirmed as ambassador to Singapore, given the Republican Party's majority. /TISG Read also: U.S. Defence Secretary compares Donald Trump to Lee Kuan Yew, but Singaporeans say 'ah gong confirm flip in his grave' See also Billionaire Bezos buys estate for $165 mn: report
South China Morning Post
11-07-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Is Singapore key for the US to fight against China as Tammy Duckworth says?
Remarks by a US senator labelling Singapore as a key place for 'fighting against' major rival China have offered a revealing glimpse into how some American politicians view the city state, amid Washington's regional power struggle with Beijing. The comments came to light after clips of a Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday showed an exasperated Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth admonishing Anjani Sinha, US President Donald Trump 's ambassador nominee to Singapore. 'You want to be ambassador to Singapore, one of the most important … friends we have in the Indo-Pacific, a key place that we're going to be fighting against our greatest adversary in the region, the PRC,' said Duckworth, a Thai-American veteran, as she referred to the People's Republic of China. Sinha, a Florida orthopaedic surgeon who reportedly plays golf at the same country club as Trump, grossly overestimated how large the US' trade surplus was with Singapore last year and did not know when Singapore was going to next chair Asean or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. After chiding Sinha for not doing his 'homework' on the city state, the senator from Illinois stressed the importance of Singapore to the US, adding: 'This nation is too important to the United States, to Asean, to the entire region. 'And frankly, I think the mission is important to US interests and national security, and it should actually be a foreign service officer. But I have even larger concerns with the political pick when that political pick is somebody as unqualified as you.'
