Senator John Cornyn Leverages Ambassador Nominations to Press for PEPFAR Funding

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced that he would withhold support for President Donald Trump’s ambassadorial nominees—Kari Lake for Jamaica and Doug Mastriano for Slovakia—unless the administration provided assurances that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funds appropriated by Congress would be released. After receiving assurances, Cornyn voted to advance both nominations out of committee.

SemaforDaily WireTalking Points Memo

PEPFAR, launched in 2003 by President George W. Bush, is the United States’ largest single-disease foreign-aid program. Since February 2025, the program has operated under a waiver limiting it to “life-saving HIV services.” The Trump administration has repeatedly declined to spend money that Congress earmarked for PEPFAR, prompting criticism that the executive branch is impounding funds in violation of the Impoundment Control Act, which requires a formal deferral request meeting specific criteria.

Talking Points Memo

• The administration had not spent nearly $1 billion of PEPFAR funding by late last year, according to budget documents reviewed by TPM.

Talking Points Memo

• Cornyn secured a guarantee that a “more than $270 million” transfer from the State Department to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would be completed.

Talking Points Memo

• A study cited in coverage indicated that fiscal year 2025 saw a 10 percent decline—about two million fewer people with HIV—receiving antiretroviral treatment due to the cuts.

Talking Points Memo

• Cornyn’s demand called for the immediate release of “$1.3 billion” of PEPFAR money before he would support the nominees.

Daily Wire

• “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,” — Sen. John Cornyn

Talking Points Memo

• “But in addition to the illegality, in addition to breaking budget laws, the actual human impact is a lot of dead people,” — Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at Center for American Progress

Talking Points Memo

• “This is one of the really important elements of our soft power too, because America needs friends in Africa,” — Sen. John Cornyn

Daily Wire

• “Sen. Cornyn is a principled conservative. He is a very effective senator for the state of Texas, but none of us control what the president does,” — Majority Leader John Thune

Daily Wire