Slowly, slowly, the Clinton Administration is getting its diplomatic corps in in place. President Clinton, at last, has sent a flurry of ambassadorial nominations to the Senate. Still, six months into his second term, several crucial posts remain unfilled.
Republican Gov. William F. Weld of Massachusetts may be U.S. ambassador to Mexico one day, but he's got plenty of time to practice his Spanish while the Administration figures out how to mollify Senators of his own party. A White House aide said that officials are looking for the ``price'' that will persuade Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse A. Helms, R-N.C., to schedule a hearing on Weld's nomination. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, who has a congenial relationship with Helms, has ``spent a good deal of time on the phone'' with him making the case for Weld, whom Helms faults for supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes and for his record in prosecuting drug cases as a U.S. Attorney. The White House, another aide said, has sent Helms more ``specifics'' about Weld's work on drug policy in the Reagan Administration.
There is fitful movement elsewhere. White House sources say that Rep. Thomas M. Foglietta, D-Pa., is expected to be named as the ambassador to Italy. But the anticipated nominations to the major postings of France, Japan and the United Kingdom--respectively, New York investment banker Felix Rohatyn, former House Speaker Thomas S. Foley, D-Wash., and Clinton crony Philip Lader--haven't yet been sent to the Senate.
At least 10 of the country's 163 ambassadorial posts are currently vacant. But Clinton has recently sent a gusher of nominations to the Senate, including John Kornblum, a career diplomat, for Germany; Democratic fund raiser Gordon D. Giffin, a confidant of former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., for Canada; and career diplomat James Franklin Collins for Russia. More are on the way. Hispanic business executive and Democratic fund raiser Ed Romero is expected to be named as ambassador to Spain, and former Rep. Lindy Boggs, D-La., to the Vatican. It also helps to have survived working for Clinton. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns is expected to head to Greece, White House speechwriter Carolyn Curiel to Belize and National Security Council spokesman David Johnson to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
NEXT STORY: NEA on Way Out