It could be a while before a new US ambassador arrives in Guyana. Before the life of the last Senate expired last year, it had not considered US President Barack Obama’s nominee for the post, Perry L Holloway.
“Because of when the nomination took place, the subcommittee never scheduled hearings for Ambassador-designate Holloway during the last Congress. So, effectively what happened is the life of the Congress finished without it having taken action on the nomination,” Chargé d’Affaires at the US embassy here, Bryan Hunt said in an interview with Stabroek News on Thursday.
Hunt said that President Obama will resubmit the nomination – but has not done so yet – to the new congress that has just been sworn-in and hopefully the Senate will take action on the nomination. “We don’t have a date for that yet,” he said, while adding that the executive branch does not have insight or control over the timeline for approval.
The American diplomat said that he does not see any issue with Holloway’s appointment when it comes up in the Senate. “I would never presume to speak for the United States Senate but what I can say is that traditionally, members of the career foreign service and ambassador designate Holloway is a member of the career foreign service, do not face difficulties when the hearings and the votes takes place. It would be very unusual for the United States Senate to decline to approve a nomination for someone who is a member of the career foreign service,” he said.
In July last year, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Holloway – who was previously stationed at the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan where he served as a political-military counsellor – as US ambassador to Guyana.
