Photo: DOMINIC GWINN / AFP / Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s nominee for a senior State Department role is facing serious trouble on Capitol Hill — and this time, the pushback is coming from both sides of the aisle.
Jeremy Carl, Trump’s pick to serve as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, may not have the votes to advance out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) publicly announced his opposition.
“After reviewing his record and participating in today’s hearing, I do not believe that Jeremy Carl is the right person to represent our nation’s best interests in international forums,” Curtis said in a statement. He added that he found Carl’s “anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people unbecoming of the position.”
The role Carl has been nominated for is not minor. The Assistant Secretary for International Organizations oversees how the United States engages with the United Nations and its affiliated agencies, serving as a senior diplomatic representative on the global stage.
Carl, who previously served as deputy assistant secretary of the interior during Trump’s first term, has drawn widespread criticism over past statements and writings that critics describe as racist, antisemitic, and homophobic.
He is the author of The Unprotected Class: How Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart, a book that argues white Americans face systemic discrimination. In past public remarks, Carl has criticized Juneteenth as a “racial hustle” and described the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an “anti-white weapon.” He has also referenced the so-called “Great Replacement” theory — a white nationalist conspiracy claim that demographic change is a deliberate effort to displace white Americans.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic senators pressed Carl on those views. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) directly challenged him over his past comments about race and demographic change, telling Carl that his rhetoric suggested a belief in racial hierarchy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also condemned the nomination on the Senate floor, saying Carl’s past remarks “plainly disqualify him” from representing the United States diplomatically.
Civil rights organizations have also mobilized against the nomination. A coalition including the NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and National Council of Negro Women sent a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee urging lawmakers to reject Carl’s nomination, arguing that his record is “fundamentally incompatible” with the responsibilities of the role.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus echoed those concerns. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chair of the CBC, said Carl’s history of remarks about civil rights and Black history raises serious doubts about his ability to represent a diverse nation abroad.
The nomination now faces an uncertain path forward. Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, but Curtis’s opposition signals that Carl may not have unified GOP support in committee. Without sufficient backing to advance, the nomination could stall before ever reaching a full Senate vote.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.