Cornyn blocks Trump ambassador votes over AIDS funding

Sen. John Cornyn told Semafor he will block the ambassadorial nominations of Kari Lake and Doug Mastriano unless the Trump administration releases money from PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the U.S. program aimed at fighting AIDS in Africa. The Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on Lake's nomination to be ambassador to Jamaica on Wednesday, with Mastriano's nomination to ambassador to Slovakia likely to be added to the same slate.

Cornyn's leverage is substantial. The committee consists of 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats; all Democratic members are planning to vote no on both nominees. A single Republican defection—Cornyn's vote—would create a tie, which would defeat the nominations in committee. "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. "We are going to use the committee vote tomorrow as a way to … get the money distributed the way Congress appropriated it." He added that he does not expect to be alone, and Sen. John Curtis of Utah said he is "taking a hard look" at the two nominations.

Cornyn has already demonstrated that this approach works. Earlier in the year, he threatened to vote against a GOP spending bill unless the Trump administration released border security money for Texas, and the administration responded by moving quickly to address his concerns. He conveyed his intentions to Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch before going public. Cornyn also said he will vote against both Lake and Mastriano on the Senate floor if the nominees advance out of committee and his PEPFAR concerns have not been resolved.

Both nominees are Trump allies. Lake and Mastriano both lost gubernatorial races in 2022; Lake additionally lost a Senate race in 2024. Cornyn himself lost his own reelection bid earlier this year after President Donald Trump backed his primary challenger. The administration did not immediately comment on Cornyn's threat.

Cornyn's move reflects a calculation about leverage within a narrowly divided Republican caucus and a Senate Foreign Relations Committee where Democratic votes are locked in opposition. The Texas senator framed his action as a tool to bypass normal channels — "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." His track record this year shows the tactic works: when he threatened a GOP spending bill veto over border security money, the administration responded. The two nominees at stake—Lake and Mastriano—are both Trump loyalists who lost statewide races (Lake in 2022 gubernatorial and 2024 Senate races; Mastriano in 2022 gubernatorial race), making them politically aligned with Trump even if their nominations face headwinds. Cornyn's signaling to Chair Risch and his openness to other Republicans like Curtis joining him suggests this may not be a solo maneuver, though Cornyn himself acknowledged he expects support.