Senate Foreign Relations Committee vets Trump nominees for U.S. ambassadorships amid demands for UN reform and China pushback

At a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President Trump’s nominees for three ambassadorial posts — Representative Michael Waltz to the United Nations, Christine Toretti to Sweden and John Arrigo to Portugal — outlined their qualifications and priorities as senators pressed them on reforming the United Nations, countering Chinese influence and ensuring U.S. taxpayer funds are well spent.

Committee members opened with introductions and endorsements. Senator Lindsey Graham recommended John Arrigo for Portugal, saying, “If you’re a country, you want somebody as the ambassador of the United States that has a line to President Trump,” and praising Arrigo’s business background. Senator Mike Lee and Senator Tim Scott supported Representative Michael Waltz for the UN post; Lee called Waltz “one of the most well qualified United Nations nominees ever.”

Waltz, a former U.S. representative and Army Green Beret, told the committee he would press for what he described as a return to the UN’s charter and core peacemaking functions. “We must return to the UN’s…