Ted Cruz to End Hold on State Department Nominees

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Wednesday announced that he will end his hold on President Joe Biden's nominations to the State Department due to upcoming sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

"President Biden made the right decision today," Cruz said in a statement. "Allowing Putin's Nord Stream 2 to come online would have created multiple, cascading, and acute security crises for the United States and our European allies for generations to come. Today's announcement is critical to preventing such scenarios."

Biden said earlier that he had directed his administration to "impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers. These steps are another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. As I have made clear, we will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate."

Cruz added, "Today's announcement should be followed by additional steps inside the Biden administration and in Congress to permanently lock in sanctions" in order to prevent the pipeline from ever coming online."

"Our Ukrainian allies are on the front lines this very moment bravely facing down Russian forces. For months they have been pleading with us to help them by, first, locking in exactly these sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and, second, providing them with the lethal aid they need to defend themselves," the senator continued. "President Biden has now taken positive steps in both areas, but much more still needs to be done to deter and counter the threat that Putin poses to our allies in Ukraine and across Europe."

• Biden Orders Sanctions on Company Building Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline
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