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Human rights nominee defends natural‑rights framework as senators press on DRL grant cuts, report changes and Uyghur forced labor
Summary
Riley Barnes, nominee to lead the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told senators he would champion “inalienable rights” and defend religious freedom and free speech; senators pressed him on the department’s cancellation of nearly all DRL democracy grants, removal of sections from the State Department’s human rights reports, and
Riley Barnes, President Trump’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, said he would emphasize “inalienable rights” and defend religious freedom, free speech and protections against forced labor if confirmed. Senate Democrats and Republicans pressed Barnes on recent policy changes at the State Department, including steep cuts to DRL grants and revisions to the annual human rights reports.
Barnes told the committee the bureau’s mission must be grounded in a rights framework that his opening statement described as rooted in the Declaration of Independence. "All are created equal," he said,…
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