The Scoop
Two of the most influential Republican congressional staffers on US-Africa policy are departing this month, just as the Senate confirms the official set to lead the State Department’s Africa bureau.
John “JT” Tomaszewski, senior staffer to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James Risch, is joining the National Endowment for Democracy as senior Africa director. Joe Foltz, staff director of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Africa subcommittee, is headed to logistics company Zipline as director of global partnerships and federal affairs.
Both men have helped shape US-Africa policy on Capitol Hill across multiple administrations — including when Republicans were in the minority during President Joe Biden’s administration — and each had been considered for the White House Africa director role under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The Senate is expected to soon confirm Frank Garcia as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at a fraught moment: The conflicts in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are showing no sign of resolution, counterterrorism concerns and Russian influence are growing in the Sahel, and US relations with South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, have sharply deteriorated.
Analysts said Garcia’s confirmation would help anchor the State Department’s Africa strategy with a more cohesive approach. The administration’s Africa leadership structure has raised questions, with Massad Boulos holding a dual role as both the State Department’s senior adviser for Arab and African affairs and a senior presidential adviser for Africa based in the White House.
Yinka’s view
Though the Republican staffers’ departures are unrelated, their simultaneous exits leave Garcia with one less bridge to the Hill at a moment when US-Africa policy can least afford the disruption. Africa has long been an afterthought in Washington — chronically under-resourced and outpaced by other regional priorities — and losing two of its most experienced Capitol Hill advocates, whatever the reason, does little to change that calculus.