For Biden, Menendez's Troubles May Clear Foreign Policy Roadblocks

[Judi Lynn]

Michael Crowley and Karoun Demirjian
Updated Sat, September 30, 2023 at 2:08 PM CDT·6 min read

When the Biden administration relaxed some travel restrictions on Americans visiting Cuba in May 2022, Sen. Robert Menendez was having none of it.

“I am dismayed,” Menendez, D-N.J., said in a statement. Anyone who believed the measure might help bring democracy to Cuba was “simply in a state of denial,” he fumed.

A day later, Menendez erupted again, this time over reports that the Biden administration was easing oil sanctions against Venezuela’s authoritarian government — “a strategy destined to fail,” he declared.

For Biden officials, the friendly fire from a fellow Democrat was exasperating if not exactly surprising. Before stepping aside as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after his indictment on federal corruption charges last week, Menendez routinely opposed and even criticized President Joe Biden — and the previous Democrat in the White House, Barack Obama — on foreign policy issues.

From Latin America to the Middle East, Menendez has long been among the most hawkish Democrats on Capitol Hill, and never afraid to oppose or criticize members of his own party on issues he holds dear. His replacement as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., has been vague about his plans but is closer personally to Biden and likely to be more accommodating of his agenda.

More:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-menendez-troubles-may-clear-142030161.html