Sen. Cruz Statement on President Obama's Nomination for State Department IG

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today issued the following statement regarding President Obama's nomination of Steve Linick for State Department Inspector General:

Three days ago, I wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell notifying my intent to hold all diplomatic nominations until a State Department Inspector General is nominated by the President. This crucial oversight position has been vacant for nearly five years, during which time there have been deadly attacks on U.S. diplomatic personnel in Libya, mismanagement of security contractors at our embassy in Afghanistan, and hundreds of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars wasted for police training in Iraq.

Yesterday, the White House finally nominated Mr. Steve Linick to fill this role at the State Department. That the President has finally announced a nomination - after allowing this vital post to remain unfilled for nearly 2000 days - is welcome news to all who value good governance and accountability within our federal agencies. Regardless of what brought about the announcement, it is a concrete step in the right direction and I look forward to discussing my concerns about the State Department with Mr. Linick in the near future.

###