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Press

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, issued the following statement in response to the firing of James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “There is little President Trump does anymore that surprises me, but that he would fire the lead...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Sunday after French authorities declared Emmanuel Macron the winner of the country’s presidential run-off election: “I congratulate Emmanuel Macron for his victory in today's French presidential...

WASHINGTON – The Democrats on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led by Ranking Member Ben Cardin of Maryland, introduced a resolution Thursday stating that the United States should work in cooperation with the international community and continue to exercise global leadership to address the causes and effects of climate change. The...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation Thursday to restrict the exportation of certain defense articles by the United States to the Philippine National Police, support human rights and civil society organizations in the Republic of the Philippines, and report on sources of narcotics entering...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and John McCain (R-Ariz.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced a Senate resolution Thursday reaffirming the United States’ strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Wednesday to commemorate World Press Freedom Day: “On World Press Freedom Day, we pause to celebrate and take stock of the role that free media plays in a democratic society, to condemn the public...

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today led a bipartisan group of 15 senators in urging President Trump to prioritize advocacy for democracy and respect for human rights in the administration’s foreign policy agenda. U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Edward Markey (D-MA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Bob...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Wednesday encouraging the Secretary to keep the U.S. party to the Paris Agreement, the largest multilateral cooperative agreement ever reached to address the challenge of global climate change. The Senators’ letter...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Wednesday after he met with the acting foreign secretary of the Philippines, Enrique Gonzales Manalo:  “I appreciated the opportunity to meet with Foreign Secretary Manalo, particularly at a time when...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to provide humanitarian assistance for the Venezuelan people, support a coordinated multilateral response to political and humanitarian challenges, and to defend democratic governance and combat widespread public corruption in...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Tuesday on Israel’s 69th Independence Day: “On this Yom Ha'atzmaut, I congratulate the Israeli people on the joyous anniversary of their independence. As Israelis reflect on their history and look...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered the following opening remarks Tuesday at a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Governor Terry Branstad of Iowa to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr....

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Sunday after American citizen Sandy Phan-Gillis returned to the United States after being unjustly detained by the Chinese government for two years. Cardin had been an advocate for her freedom, most recently...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to the president of Zambia yesterday regarding the imprisonment of that country’s opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, on what appear to be politically motivated charges. Amid court proceedings against Mr. Hichilema beginning...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to strengthen employee diversity in the U.S. national security workforce through enhanced hiring, retention, and growth practices. The National Security Diversity and Inclusion Workforce Act of 2017 would codify and...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senior Democratic Senator on the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), released the following statement Monday after an American civilian working as part of the Organization for Security...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Special Representative on Anti-Semitism, Racism and Intolerance, released the following statement Monday in observance of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day: “Last...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement after several media outlets reported Exxon Mobil has requested a waiver from sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department in order to resume its drilling partnership with the Russian oil company...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and John McCain (R-Ariz.), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following joint statement as the annual Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, otherwise known as the...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Monday on reports of forced disappearances, torture, and killing of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) individuals, primarily gay men, in Chechnya: “I am gravely concerned about the growing...