The Scoop
Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn is threatening to vote down the ambassadorial nominations of two top Trump allies on Wednesday unless the Trump administration releases money aimed at fighting the spread of AIDS in Africa.
Cornyn told Semafor that he would not support committee action on Kari Lake’s nomination to be ambassador to Jamaica or Doug Mastriano’s bid to become ambassador to Slovakia without confirmation that the administration will distribute money from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, commonly known as PEPFAR.
The Foreign Relations Committee is set to take up Lake’s nomination on Wednesday, and Mastriano is likely to be added to the slate.
“The only way it seems like you can get the administration’s attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees,” Cornyn said in an interview. “We are going to use the committee vote tomorrow as a way to … get the money distributed the way Congress appropriated it.”
It’s a threat with teeth. Cornyn could singlehandedly stall both nominees in the committee, which has 12 Republican and 10 Democratic members, with all of the latter planning to vote no. With full attendance, that means a tie vote on the nominees, which would fail — though Cornyn said he thinks “I will not be alone” in his stand.
The Texan, who lost his reelection bid earlier this year after President Donald Trump backed his primary challenger, said he would also vote against Lake and Mastriano on the Senate floor if the nominees manage to get through committee and his concerns haven’t been addressed.
Lake and Mastriano are both stalwart Trump allies who lost gubernatorial races in 2022; Lake also lost a Senate race in 2024. Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, told Semafor on Tuesday that he’s “taking a hard look” at the two nominations.
Cornyn has already shown a keen awareness of his leverage; he threatened to vote against a GOP spending bill earlier this year unless the Trump administration released border security money for Texas. The administration moved to soothe his concerns quickly.
He is also undecided on attorney general nominee Todd Blanche, who’s expected to get a Judiciary Committee vote before senators break for the month of August.
Cornyn said he conveyed his intentions to vote against Lake and Mastriano if PEPFAR money isn’t released to Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch, R-Idaho. The administration did not immediately comment.
Know More
PEPFAR is a signature achievement of former President George W. Bush; the program has enjoyed two decades of largely bipartisan backing. Republicans shielded PEPFAR from cuts in last year’s rescissions package, for example, demonstrating their enduring support.
Cornyn recalled seeing the benefits of the program firsthand during a trip to Africa last year. He said dryly, however, that “President Trump doesn’t have a lot of affection for President Bush, either father or son.”
The senator added that he estimates about $1.3 billion is ready to be released immediately. He wants more details on the roughly $10 billion lawmakers have appropriated for the program over the past two years.
He said the money is important for two reasons: saving lives and keeping the US relevant in Africa, where Russia and China are competing for influence.
“This is one of the really important elements of our soft power too, because America needs friends in Africa,” Cornyn said. “So, not only is it the right thing to do from a compassionate point of view, it’s in our self interest to make sure this money is used to promote American soft power and to make friends.”
PEPFAR has faced repeated disruption since the beginning of the second Trump administration. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order pausing nearly all foreign aid disbursements. Secretary of State Marco Rubio subsequently issued a waiver allowing PEPFAR and other “life-saving humanitarian assistance” to keep operating.
Yet the waiver did not restore stability. Treatment programs reported that grants were often terminated or delayed in 2025 despite the exemption, while the administration dismantled USAID, which implemented many PEPFAR-related programs. Aid groups report the cuts have already forced clinic closures, staff layoffs, and service reductions around the world.
South Africa — which has the highest population of people living with HIV — has borne the brunt of the broader retreat. Washington is completely ending PEPFAR funding there, with the State Department citing unmet policy demands unrelated to health.
Notable
- The late Sen. Lindsey Graham was a PEPFAR champion, Semafor reported.