Statements and Releases

     James J. Blanchard, of Michigan, to be a Member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy for a term expiring July 1, 2025, vice Anne Terman Wedner, term expired.

     Tanya Monique Jones Bosier, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years, vice Gerald Fisher, retired.

     Fara Damelin, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Federal Communications Commission.  (New Position)

     Jeremy C. Daniel, of Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, vice Gary Scott Feinerman, resigned.

     Joel Ehrendreich, of New York, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Palau.

     Brendan Abell Hurson, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, vice George Jarrod Hazel, resigned.

     Matthew James Maddox, of Maryland, to be United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, vice Paul William Grimm, retired.

     Kara C. McDonald, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Lithuania.

     Tara K. McGrath, of California, to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of California for the term of four years, vice Robert S. Brewer, Jr., resigned.

     Danny Lam Hoan Nguyen, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen years, vice Fern Flanagan Saddler, retired.

     Eric G. Olshan, of Pennsylvania, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania for the term of four years, vice Cindy K. Chung, resigned.

     Darrel James Papillion, of Louisiana, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, vice Carl J. Barbier, retired.

     John Joseph Sullivan, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the United States Institute of Peace for a term of four years, vice Stephen J. Hadley, term expired.

     Loren E. Sweatt, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National Mediation Board for a term expiring July 1, 2023, vice Gerald W. Fauth, term expired.

     Loren E. Sweatt, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National Mediation Board for a term expiring July 1, 2026.  (Reappointment)

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The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus has made their priorities clear: imposing devastating cuts to public safety and increasing costs for working- and middle-class families, all to protect and extend tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. In fact, their tax cuts would be so expensive that their deep and harmful cuts would not reduce the deficit.

That’s in sharp contrast with the President’s Budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.

Combined with other commitments extreme MAGA House Republicans have already made, the extreme Freedom Caucus proposal will be a disaster for families in at least five key ways: endangering public safety, raising costs for families, shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and undermining American workers, weakening national security, and hurting seniors.

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that Congressional Republicans’ budget math doesn’t add up. CBO found that—in order to meet Congressional Republicans’ stated commitment to balancing the budget in 10 years without raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, and without cutting Social Security, Medicare, defense, and some veterans’ benefits—Congressional Republicans would need to eliminate everything in the rest of the Federal budget.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal will be a five-alarm fire for families—including by raising costs. Unlike extreme MAGA Republicans in the House who are focused on repealing the Inflation Reduction Act—which would raise costs on everything from health insurance, to prescription drugs, to utility bills—President Biden is focused on lowering everyday costs and giving working families more breathing room.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposals will:

• Make Health Care More Expensive: Extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have signed onto a bill to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. That will increase health care premiums by an average of $800 per year for nearly 15 million Americans.
  
• Increase Energy Costs.  The extreme MAGA House Republicans would eliminate a law that will lower utility bills for American families by hundreds of dollars per year. Their plans would deny Americans critical savings on electric vehicles, energy-efficient windows, solar panels, and more.
  
• Make College More Expensive. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would not only eliminate Pell Grants altogether for 80,000 students, it would also reduce the maximum award by nearly $1,000 for the remaining 6.6 million students who receive Pell Grants—making it harder for them to attend and afford college.
  
• Eliminate Preschool and Child Care Slots. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would mean 200,000 children lose access to Head Start slots and 100,000 children lose access to child care—undermining our children’s education and making it more difficult for parents to join the workforce and contribute to our economy.
  
• Strip Medicaid Coverage and Food Assistance from Millions of People. Extreme MAGA Republicans want to impose failed policies that take Medicaid coverage away from people who fail to meet bureaucratic work reporting requirements. When it was tried, this policy led to nearly 1 in 4 losing Medicaid coverage – including working people and people with disabilities, caused uninsured rates to spike and led people to go without needed care, and failed to increase employment. Their proposals also put food assistance at risk for millions of older people and parents, and would mean 1.2 million women, infants, and children would lose vital nutrition assistance through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), significantly increasing child poverty and hunger.

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As part of the Biden-Harris Administration‘s commitment to protect, conserve, and restore our country’s iconic lands and historic sites for the benefit of future generations, today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Castner Range National Monument, in El Paso, Texas. This action will protect the cultural, scientific and historic objects found within the monument’s boundaries, honor our veterans, servicemembers, and Tribal Nations, and expand access to outdoor recreation on our public lands.  

Located on Fort Bliss, Castner Range served as a training and testing site for the U.S. Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Army ceased training at the site and closed Castner Range in 1966. Once the area is sufficiently remediated to be safe for public access, Castner Range will offer unique opportunities for the El Paso community to experience, explore, and learn from nature. President Biden is committed to expanding access to nature for underserved communities that have historically had less access to our public lands, like those bordering Castner Range. Protecting Castner Range connects the area with the Franklin Mountains State Park, creating continuous habitat for wildlife and improved public access for outdoor recreation. Castner Range also hosts significant cultural sites documenting the history of Tribal Nations, including the Apache and Pueblo peoples and the Comanche Nation, Hopi Tribe, and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

At the White House Conservation in Action Summit today, the President will announce additional actions to conserve and restore lands and waters across the nation, including establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada. The President will also direct the Secretary of Commerce to consider exercising her authority to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. These new commitments build on President Biden’s record of delivering on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history.  

President Biden is committed to supporting locally-led conservation efforts. This designation advances the President’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which includes our country’s first national conservation goal.

Castner Range National Monument

Castner Range National Monument consists of 6,672 acres of high-desert mountains, making up the southern component of the Franklin Mountain range, just outside of El Paso, Texas. Located on Fort Bliss Military Base, Castner Range served as the training and testing site for the U.S. Army from 1926-1966. The Army ceased training at the site and closed Castner Range in 1966.

Before the U.S. Army used the lands, Castner Range was home to the Apache and Pueblo peoples and the Comanche Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma. The Castner Range area contains more than 40 known archeological sites including living structures, hearths, remnants of pottery and other tools, as well as a myriad of petroglyphs and images on the rock faces that make up the canyons and mountains of Castner Range.

The local El Paso community cherishes the Franklin Mountains for their natural and ecological features. Castner Range remains an area of high biodiversity for desert species in America, including spring blooms of the Mexican Poppy. In addition to the poppies, this section of the Franklin Mountains also contains a high concentration of natural springs. Along with creosote brush vegetation, it provides important habitat to wildlife that call Castner Range home, including the American peregrine falcon, Golden eagle, mountain plover, Texas horned lizard, Black-tailed prairie dog, Baird’s swallow, and the Western burrowing owl. The endangered Sneed pincushion cactus and a host of other rare or endemic plants also inhabit the area. Protecting Castner Range ensures connectivity with other protected areas and migratory corridors for species to travel without the threat of human impacts.

The U.S. Army will manage the national monument consistent with protection of the objects of historic and cultural significance and will commence a land management planning process with robust public engagement in the next sixty days. Castner Range will continue to undergo evaluation, planning and remediation of munitions through The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process, informed by public input and consistent with this proclamation. The Army will work with Tribes and the community to secure public access to the monument in phases, as it is safe and appropriate.

Though previous national monument designations have protected important historic military sites, this would be the first national monument directly managed by the U.S. military since national battlefields were transferred to the National Park Service in the 1930s.

Background on Antiquities Designations

President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties, including recent Presidents Trump, Obama, G.W. Bush, and Clinton have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients.

In addition to designating Castner Range National Monument, today the President is also taking action to establish Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada. These are President Biden’s second and third new monument designations, following the creation of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado last fall.

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Nevada Landscape Is Sacred to Indigenous Peoples, Protects One of World’s Largest Joshua Tree Forests and Connects Wildlife Habitat

As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect historically and scientifically important sites, honor culturally significant areas, and conserve and restore our country’s treasured outdoor spaces, today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. This designation will honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting this sacred Nevada landscape and its historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy.

Avi Kwa Ame is considered to be among the most sacred places on Earth by the Mojave, Chemehuevi, and some Southern Paiute people. It is also important to other Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples including the Cocopah, Halchidhoma, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kumeyaay, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Quechan, Yavapai, and Zuni Tribes. Its scenic peaks include Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain), which is designated as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its religious and cultural importance. The area is also home to the one of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests, and provides continuous habitat or migration corridors for species such as the desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and Gila monster.   

At the White House Conservation in Action Summit today, the President will announce additional actions to conserve and restore lands and waters across the nation, including establishing Castner Range National Monument in Texas. The President will also direct the Secretary of Commerce to consider exercising her authority to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. These new commitments build on President Biden’s record of delivering on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history.  

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring Tribal sovereignty, protecting Tribal homelands, and conducting regular, meaningful, and robust consultation with Tribal Nations. Today’s action builds on the President’s commitment to protect America’s lands and waters through the Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which supports locally-led conservation efforts across the country in pursuit of the U.S.’s first national conservation goal.

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument

The Avi Kwa Ame National Monument protects and preserves the rich ecological, historic, cultural, and scenic values of this unique desert landscape. The monument designation protects sacred space for spiritual uses, including Spirit Mountain, which is central to the creation story of many Tribal Nations, while ensuring continued access to hunting, camping, hiking, OHV use, photography, and other recreational activities. The natural springs, natural soundscapes, and dark skies protected within the monument will support Nevada’s outdoor recreation economy, while safeguarding these historically and scientifically important treasures for generations to come.

The designation of the new national monument creates one of the largest contiguous areas of protected wildlife habitat in the United States, tying together the protected lands of the Mojave Desert in California to the southwest with the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and other protected areas to the east near the Colorado River. Avi Kwa Ame and the surrounding landscape provide native species – including desert bighorn sheep, Gila monsters, desert tortoises, and Arizona toads – a space to thrive and adapt amid the pressures of a changing climate. The designation also provides protection to an ancient and intact Joshua tree forest that contains Nevada’s largest Joshua tree.

To help sustain the health of wildlife populations in Avi Kwa Ame, the national monument proclamation recognizes and reaffirms the State of Nevada’s ongoing primary role in the management of wildlife within the monument. Hunting, trapping, wildlife watching, aerial surveys, wildlife infrastructure installation and maintenance, and a wide range of other wildlife management activities will continue to be allowed within the national monument. The proclamation further directs the Interior Department to build on its ongoing partnership with the Nevada Department of Wildlife to explore developing a memorandum of understanding to further improve these collaborative efforts.

Recognizing the critical role that sportsmen and sportswomen have played historically – and continue to play – in restoring and conserving bighorn sheep and other wildlife populations in southern Nevada, the proclamation requires representation from the sportsmen and sportswomen community on a monument advisory committee.

Consistent with direction in the proclamation, the Interior Department will enter into a memorandum of understanding with Tribal Nations to carry out co-stewardship of the monument and will work with local communities to locate and develop a visitor center and other visitor facilities.

The national monument designation recognizes and respects valid existing rights. The proclamation specifies that maintenance and upgrades to water infrastructure for flood control, utilities, water district facilities, wildlife water catchments, and other uses may continue; and that transmission lines, pipelines, and roads can continue to be maintained and upgraded. The proclamation allows for military, commercial, and private flights in and out of existing or future airports in the area. It also does not change the class II air quality designation for the area or affect the State’s authority over administering air quality designations.

The national monument spans approximately 506,814 acres of lands managed by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Park Service. All of the land reserved by the proclamation is currently owned by the Federal government; existing State and private lands within the boundary are not included in the monument. 

The designation will not slow the positive momentum of clean energy development in the State of Nevada, which will continue to play a leading role in helping the nation meet its goal of permitting 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2025. Outside of the national monument boundaries, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has identified more than 9 million acres of public lands within the State of Nevada that may be appropriate for solar development. Additionally, BLM is currently reviewing more than three dozen proposed renewable energy projects in the state that would add more than 13 GW of potential clean energy generation to the grid if constructed.

Background on Antiquities Act Designations

President Theodore Roosevelt first used the Antiquities Act in 1906 to designate Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. Since then, 18 presidents of both parties, including recent Presidents Trump, Obama, G.W. Bush, and Clinton have used this authority to protect unique natural and historic features in America, including the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, and Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients.

In addition to designating Avi Kwa Ame National Monument, today the President is also taking action to establish Castner Range National Monument in Texas. These are President Biden’s second and third new monument designations, following the creation of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado last fall.

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President Establishes New National Monuments in Nevada and Texas; Directs Secretary of Commerce to Consider Expanding Protections for Pacific Remote Islands Which Would Reach Goal of Conserving 30% of U.S. Ocean by 2030

At the White House Conservation in Action Summit today, President Biden will announce major new actions to conserve and restore lands and waters across the nation, including by establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas. The President will also direct the Secretary of Commerce to consider exercising her authority to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. These new commitments build on President Biden’s historic climate and environmental record, including delivering on the most ambitious land and water conservation agenda in American history.  

Today’s announcements include:

• Establishing two new national monuments: Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in Texas. The designation of these two national monuments demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect historically and culturally significant areas and conserve our nation’s treasured outdoor spaces. Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada will honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples while conserving our public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy. In Texas, Castner Range National Monument will expand access to the outdoors for the El Paso community while honoring our nation’s veterans and servicemembers. Together, these new national monuments protect nearly 514,000 acres of public lands.
  
• Protecting all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. The President will direct the Secretary of Commerce to consider initiating a new National Marine Sanctuary designation within the next 30 days to protect all U.S. waters around the Pacific Remote Islands. If completed, the new sanctuary would ensure the U.S. will reach the President’s goal of conserving at least 30% of ocean waters under American jurisdiction by 2030.
  
• New actions to conserve, restore, and expand access to lands and waters. The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing a series of new steps to conserve, restore, and expand access to lands and waters across the country. These include a proposal to modernize the management of America’s public lands, a plan to harness the power of the ocean to fight the climate crisis, a strategy to better conserve wildlife corridors, and new funding to improve access to outdoor recreation, promote Tribal conservation, reduce wildfire risk, and more.

These actions build on more than two years of the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress and historic investments to advance conservation, restoration, and stewardship nationwide:

• During his first year in office, President Biden protected more lands and waters than any president since John F. Kennedy, including by restoring protections for Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monuments. Last year, President Biden designated his first new national monument, Camp Hale – Continental Divide in Colorado.
  
• Thanks to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden has, over his first two years in office, invested over $10 billion in conservation initiatives – more than any other modern president.
  
• Under the President’s leadership, the Administration is making unprecedented investments in land, water, and wildlife conservation, including by launching the $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge. These investments will help meet the President’s goal – set during his first week in office – of conserving at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
  
• The Biden-Harris Administration has protected nationally-significant lands and waters across the country, including recent actions to restore protections for roadless areas of the Tongass National Forest, prevent future oil and gas leasing in the entire U.S. Arctic Ocean, safeguard Bristol Bay in Alaska and the world-class salmon fishery it supports, and protect America’s most-visited wilderness area, the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. The Administration is also working to protect Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, the Thompson Divide in Colorado, and accelerating restoration efforts in the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay, the Everglades, and the Columbia River Basin.

Establishing Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada

Today President Biden will sign a proclamation establishing the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument. This designation will honor Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples by protecting this sacred Nevada landscape and its historically and scientifically important features, while conserving our public lands and growing America’s outdoor recreation economy.

Avi Kwa Ame is considered to be among the most sacred places on Earth by the Mojave, Chemehuevi, and some Southern Paiute people. It is also important to other Tribal Nations and Indigenous Peoples including the Cocopah, Halchidhoma, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Kumeyaay, Maricopa, Pai Pai, Quechan, Yavapai, and Zuni Tribes. Its scenic peaks include Avi Kwa Ame (Spirit Mountain), which is designated as a Traditional Cultural Property on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its religious and cultural importance. The area is also home to the one of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests, and provides continuous habitat or migration corridors for species such as the desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and Gila monster.

Establishing Castner Range National Monument in Texas

President Biden will also sign a proclamation establishing the Castner Range National Monument, in El Paso, Texas. This action will protect the cultural, scientific, and historic objects found within the monument’s boundaries, honor our veterans, servicemembers, and Tribal Nations, and expand access to outdoor recreation on our public lands. 

Located on Fort Bliss, Castner Range served as a training and testing site for the U.S. Army during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The Army ceased training at the site and closed Castner Range in 1966. Once the area is sufficiently remediated to be safe for public access, Castner Range will offer unique opportunities for the El Paso community to experience, explore, and learn from nature. President Biden is committed to expanding access to nature for underserved communities that have historically had less access to our public lands, like those bordering Castner Range. Protecting Castner Range connects the area with the Franklin Mountains State Park, creating continuous habitat for wildlife and improved public access for outdoor recreation. Castner Range also hosts significant cultural sites documenting the history of Tribal Nations, including the Apache and Pueblo peoples and the Comanche Nation, Hopi Tribe, and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

Directing Consideration of a Sanctuary to Complete Protections for Waters Around the Pacific Remote Islands

Consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to conserving 30% of lands and waters by 2030, the President will sign a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Commerce to, using the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, consider initiating a sanctuary designation within the next 30 days to expand protections around the Pacific Remote Islands southwest of Hawaii. Such protections would encompass areas unaddressed by previous administrations so all areas of U.S. jurisdiction around the islands, atolls, and reef of the Pacific Remote Islands will be protected.

The potential new National Marine Sanctuary identified in the Memorandum would conserve 777,000 square miles, including the existing Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and currently unprotected submerged lands and waters. The region has a rich ancestral tie to many Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island communities. The process for a potential sanctuary designation would allow the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to further explore the area’s scientific, cultural, and ancestral linkages, and tailor its management accordingly.

The President is also directing the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a public process to work with regional Indigenous cultural leaders to appropriately rename the existing Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, and potentially the Islands themselves, to honor the area’s heritage, ancestral pathways, and stopping points for Pacific Island voyagers, and to provide posthumous recognition for young Native Hawaiian men sent to secure U.S. territorial claim to the islands in the run up to World War II.

New Federal and Other Actions to Conserve, Restore, and Expand Access to Lands and Waters

Ocean Climate Action Plan: The Ocean Policy Committee, co-chaired by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, is releasing the first-ever United States Ocean Climate Action Plan, a groundbreaking roadmap to harnesses the power of the ocean to advance immediate, transformational steps to protect ocean health and address the climate crisis. Acknowledging that there is no path to a healthy and livable climate without the ocean, the plan outlines new actions on the Administration’s ocean-climate priorities, including efforts to advance climate solutions, promote environmental justice, support healthy communities, and ensure a robust and sustainable ocean economy.

Wildlife Corridors Guidance: The White House Council on Environmental Quality is issuing new guidance to Federal agencies on how to better incorporate ecological connectivity and wildlife corridors into federal planning and decision-making. The guidance highlights the importance of connectivity across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater habitats, encouraging collaboration across management and ownership boundaries with states, Tribes, local governments, and private land owners. This helps deliver on one of the America the Beautiful Initiative’s six early focus areas – supporting collaborative conservation of fish and wildlife habitat and corridors.

Strengthening the Stewardship of America’s Public Lands: The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management will, in the coming weeks, seek public input on a proposed rule that will help update and modernize the agency’s tools and strategies for managing America’s public lands. With climate change imposing mounting impacts on the nation’s public lands, and the growing importance of public lands for recreation and conservation, the proposed rule would help ensure that the nation’s lands continue to provide abundant and well-connected wildlife habitat, supply clean drinking water, and power local economies.

New Partnership to Protect Military Readiness and Preserve Green Space: The Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense are partnering to allocate $80 million through a combination of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and matching funds from DoD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI) to preserve green space around military installations and improve access to outdoor recreation for millions of Americans. The Departments will make the funding available to states through a competitive process that could support projects on Tribal, private, state, or local lands.

$100 Million Tribal Conservation Funding Pledge: Today, Native Americans in Philanthropy, in collaboration with Biodiversity Funders Group and 15 philanthropies, is launching the Tribal Nations Conservation Pledge with an initial commitment of more than $100 million. This is a new platform for philanthropic organizations to support the conservation work of Tribal Nations and public-private partnerships between the Biden-Harris Administration, Tribes, and philanthropy. The pledge calls on funders to commit to a self-determined amount of funding, or a self-determined percentage of annual programmatic funding, to support the biodiversity and conservation efforts of Tribes, inter-Tribal organizations, and Tribal consortia.

America the Beautiful 2022 Annual Report: The Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the 2022 America the Beautiful Annual Report, an update on progress made to support locally-led conservation and restoration efforts and meet the President’s goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

New Partnership to Accelerate the Conservation of At-Risk Species: The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Alliance of Forest Owners and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc., will announce a memorandum of understanding which formalizes the Wildlife Conservation Initiative, a collaborative partnership focused on advancing the conservation of at-risk and listed species within private working forests nationwide. The announcement comes as the Department of the Interior celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act and highlights the landmark law’s importance in preventing imperiled species’ extinction, promoting the recovery of wildlife, and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. 

Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program: Soon the Federal Highway Administration and the Department of Transportation will open applications for the first-of-its-kind $350 million Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. The program will build infrastructure that is proven to improve roadway safety – particularly in rural communities – and bring down the roughly 200 deaths stemming from more than one million collisions every year between vehicles and wildlife.

Nearly $200 Million to Reduce Wildfire Risk to Communities: Yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced nearly $200 million in Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) program grants to communities across the country. Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CWDG program is designed to assist communities, including Tribal communities, non-profit organizations, state forestry agencies and Alaska Native corporations with planning for and mitigating wildfire risks to communities and critical infrastructure as the nation faces an ongoing wildfire crisis.

State Wildlife Grants: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing over $56 million for state fish and wildlife agencies through the State Wildlife Grant Program to support conservation and stewardship efforts for imperiled wildlife and their habitats.  

Boating Infrastructure Grants: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is distributing over $20 million in grant funding to assist states and territories in the construction, renovation and maintenance of marinas and other boating facilities for outdoor recreation. Grants will support projects in 20 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to increase outdoor recreation access and waterway stewardship.  

Pactola Reservoir Protection: The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management announced actions to consider protections for cultural and natural resources in the Pactola Reservoir – Rapid Creek Watershed in South Dakota, including drinking water for Rapid City and Ellsworth Air Force Base, from the adverse impacts of mineral exploration and development. The Pactola Reservoir is the largest and deepest reservoir in the Black Hills National Forest, with 14 miles of shoreline and 150-foot depths on 800 acres and provides high quality recreation for communities and visitors. 

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The United States welcomes today’s announcement in Geneva of a major prisoner exchange agreement by the parties to the Yemen conflict. Under the deal, 887 detainees related to the war will be released by all sides. This important step builds on the positive environment created by a truce in Yemen that has effectively stopped the fighting for the past 11 months. We thank UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg and the International Committee of the Red Cross for their hard work finalizing the agreement. Over the past year and thanks to active and persistent U.S. diplomacy, Yemen has seen the lowest level of violence since the war began over a decade ago. We remain committed to building on this work to advance a durable resolution to the conflict.

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Today, I am gratified to share that American Jeff Woodke was released from captivity in West Africa. Jeff was kidnapped while serving people in the Sahel as an aid worker, and I am grateful that he will soon be reunited with his wife, Els, and their family after spending more than six years held hostage by terrorists. The United States extends our deep appreciation to the Nigerien government, which was a critical partner in helping to secure his release. I am also grateful for the hard work of dedicated public servants across the U.S. Government who made this possible, including the hard-working patriots of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell based at the FBI, the U.S. military, and of the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs based at the Department of State. We remain committed to keep faith with Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained all around the world, and there is no higher priority for this Administration than our work to bring them home. 

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The President is announcing his intent to nominate four individuals to federal district courts and two individuals to the District of Columbia Superior Court—all of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

This will be President Biden’s thirty-first round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 161.

The President is also announcing his intent to nominate two individuals to serve as U.S. Attorneys. These are officials who will be indispensable to upholding the rule of law as top federal law enforcement officials.

These individuals were chosen for their devotion to enforcing the law, their professionalism, their experience and credentials, their dedication to pursuing equal justice for all, and their commitment to the independence of the Department of Justice.

The President has now announced 70 nominees to serve as U.S. Attorneys.

United States District Court Announcements

Jeremy C. Daniel: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

Jeremy C. Daniel has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois since 2014. Mr. Daniel was previously an associate at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in Chicago, Illinois from 2007 to 2013. He served as a law clerk for Judge Virginia M. Kendall on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois from 2013 to 2014. Mr. Daniel received his J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2007 and his B.S. from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2000. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Judge Brendan Abell Hurson: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Judge Brendan Abell Hurson has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland since 2022. Previously, Judge Hurson served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender and Senior Litigation Counsel in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland from 2007 to 2017 and again from 2018 to 2022. He also served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Virgin Islands from 2017 to 2018 and worked as an associate at Schulman, Hershfield, and Gilden, P.A. in Baltimore, Maryland from 2006 to 2007. From 2005 to 2006, Judge Hurson served as a law clerk for Judge Margaret B. Seymour on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. He received his J.D., with honors, from University of Maryland School of Law in 2005 and his B.A. from Providence College, cum laude, in 2000

Judge Matthew J. Maddox: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland

Matthew J. Maddox has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Maryland since 2022. Previously, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland from 2015 to 2022. From 2012 to 2014, Judge Maddox worked as a litigation associate at Holland & Knight LLP. He served as a law clerk for Judge Andre M. Davis on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2014 to 2015 and for Judge Gerald Bruce Lee on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2011 to 2012. Judge Maddox received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2011 and his B.A. from Morgan State University in 1999.

Darrel James Papillion: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Darrel James Papillion has been a partner at Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana since 2009.  He was previously a partner at Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens, A.P.L.C. from 2001 to 2009. From 1999 to 2001, he was an associate at Moore, Walters & Thompson, A.P.L.C. and from 1995 to 1999, he was an associate at McGlinchey Stafford A.P.L.C. Mr. Papillion served as a law clerk for Associate Justice Catherine D. Kimball of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1994 to 1995. He received his J.D. from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1994 and his B.A. from Louisiana State University and A&M College in 1990.

District of Columbia Superior Court Announcements

Judge Tanya Jones Bosier: Nominee for the District of Columbia Superior Court

Judge Tanya Jones Bosier has served as a Magistrate Judge on the District of Columbia Superior Court since 2017. Previously, Judge Jones Bosier served as Assistant General Counsel for the District of Columbia Courts from 2015 to 2017 and as an Assistant General Counsel for the District of Columbia Department of Human Services from 2014 to 2015. Prior to that, Judge Jones Bosier served as an Assistant Attorney General in the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General from 2001 to 2014. She served as a law clerk for Judge Zoe A. Bush of the District of Columbia Superior Court from 2000 to 2001. Judge Jones Bosier received her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in 2000 and her B.A. from Syracuse University, cum laude, in 1995.

Danny Lam Nguyen: Nominee for the District of Columbia Superior Court

Danny Lam Nguyen is an Associate General Counsel at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he has worked since 2021. Previously, he served as a Trial Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2018 to 2021. Mr. Nguyen also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2018, and he was detailed to serve in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice as a Trial Attorney from 2017 to 2018. Mr. Nguyen was an associate, senior associate, and counsel at WilmerHale from 2006 to 2009 and 2011 to 2013. Mr. Nguyen served as a law clerk for Judge Reggie B. Walton on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 2009 to 2011. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2006, his M.Ed. from University of California, Los Angeles in 2003, and his B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles in 2001.

United States Attorney Announcements

Tara McGrath: Nominee for United States Attorney for the Southern District of California

Tara McGrath served as the civilian Litigation Attorney Advisor for the United States Marine Corps in the Pacific region from 2019 to 2022. Previously, Ms. McGrath served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California from 2008 to 2019, where she was Principal Deputy Chief of the General Crimes Section in 2015, and a Deputy Chief in the General Crimes Section from 2012 to 2014. She was also detailed to serve as a Trial Attorney in the Office of Enforcement Operations of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. from 2015 to 2018. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. McGrath served as a judge advocate while on active duty in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005 and worked for the Coastal Conservation League from 2005 to 2007. She received her J.D. from University of Michigan Law School in 2001 and her B.A. from Boston College, cum laude, in 1995.

Eric G. Olshan: Nominee for United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Eric G. Olshan has served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania since 2017. He is currently the Chief of the Economic/Cyber/National Security Crimes Section. From 2007 to 2017, Mr. Olshan served in the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., first as a Trial Attorney from 2007 to 2013 and then as Deputy Chief from 2013 to 2017. Mr. Olshan entered the Department of Justice through the Attorney General’s Honors Program. He served as a clerk for Judge Richard C. Tallman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2006 to 2007. Mr. Olshan received his J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 2006 and his B.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003.

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     Today, I am pleased to sign into law S. 619, the “COVID-19 Origin Act of 2023.”  I share the Congress’s goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19).  In 2021, I directed the Intelligence Community to use every tool at its disposal to investigate the origin of COVID-19, and that work is ongoing.  We need to get to the bottom of COVID-19’s origins to help ensure we can better prevent future pandemics.  My Administration will continue to review all classified information relating to COVID–19’s origins, including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.  In implementing this legislation, my Administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security.  

                               JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,
    March 20, 2023.

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Today, I am pleased to announce that the Council of Economic Advisers has released the 2023 Economic Report of the President, which includes the Annual Report of the Council of Economic Advisers. This Report demonstrates the robust economic progress we have made over the past year, and makes the case for the Administration’s economic policy priorities.

The Report presents President Biden’s statement about our economic progress and challenges, and follows with nine in-depth chapters.

The Economic Report of the President

Chapter 1: Pursuing Growth-Enhancing Policies in Today’s Changing World 

Chapter 2: The Year in Review and the Years Ahead

Chapter 3: Confronting New Global Challenges with Strong International Economic Partnerships

Chapter 4: Investing in Young Children’s Care and Education

Chapter 5: Building Stronger Postsecondary Institutions

Chapter 6: Supply Challenges in U.S. Labor Markets

Chapter 7: Competition in the Digital Economy: New Technologies, Old Economics

Chapter 8: Digital Assets: Relearning Economic Principles

Chapter 9: Opportunities for Better Managing Weather Risk in the Changing Climate

To view the Report, visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ERP-2023.pdf

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U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of the Interior, and other agencies continue government-wide effort to protect communities from the threat of wildfires
 

Today, Vice President Harris, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and White House Senior Advisor and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu announced $197 million in funding awards to make communities more resilient to wildfires and strengthen the federal, state and local response.  The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Community Wildfire Defense Grant program – a $1 billion new initiative funded under the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and derived from legislation the Vice President authored in the Senate.

These funds will help over 100 at-risk communities in 22 states and seven Tribes develop and implement plans to protect themselves from wildfires. Activities funded include developing or updating a community’s Wildfire Protection Plan or implementing projects outlined in a community’s existing plan – such as removing overgrown weeds or dead vegetation from around homes, properly marking evacuation routes in preparation for smoky conditions, identifying invasive species that create fire risk like invasive bamboo, or clearing brush from around power poles.

As the President noted in the State of the Union last month, the changing climate has caused an increase in the number of wildfires that burn across the American West each year – often devastating disadvantaged communities in high-risk areas. In 2022, nearly 70,000 fires burned over 7.5 million acres. In response, the Biden-Harris Administration has directed the federal investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to target the communities at greatest risk. 86 of the 100 grants announced for communities today are also going to areas considered underserved – in-line with the Administration’s commitment to Justice40.

This announcement follows the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) release of $50 million in new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding on March 17th for wildfire management and hazardous fuels treatments this year, which will help limit the severity of wildfires in at-risk areas. This funding will advance collaborative wildfire risk management efforts with private landowners, Tribes, states and local governments, help communities acquire slip-on tank units, support special pay supplements for federal wildland firefighters, and expand remote sensing for wildfire detection. These investments build on the $228 million in fiscal year 2023 funding allocated in December by the Department and $180 million allocated in fiscal year 2022.  

These combined announcements from the DOI and USDA – in addition to the Administration’s efforts to identify priority landscapes for hazardous fuels removal, raise wildland firefighter pay, invest in new technologies through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to better detect and stop wildfires, and strengthen our federal, state, and local capacity to respond to wildfires and remove hazardous materials – are making the communities safer in advance of this fire season. Last year DOI and USDA coordinated to treat over 3.5 million acres in high-risk areas – in line with a 5- and 10-year national strategy – to limit the threat of wildfires to communities. With help from state, local, and Tribal partners, they are on-pace to do even more this year.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act included over $7 billion in funding for the USDA, DOI, and NOAA to enhance our ability to mitigate and respond to wildfires. 

Wildland Fire Resilience & Response a Priority in the President’s Budget
The Biden-Harris Administration remains intensely focused on limiting the damage wildfires have on communities this fire season – and will use all available resources to protect homes, our economy, and the environment from climate-induced natural hazards. As part of the President’s 2024 budget request, he called on Congress to:

• Permanently increase pay for wildland firefighters – initially supplemented for 2 years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – and provide them with the health – including mental health – resources that they need to do dangerous jobs. These first responders save lives, protect communities, and serve on the frontlines of our nation’s wildfire crisis;
• Provide housing for wildland fire personnel, who often struggle to find affordable housing options in hard to reach locations where they fight fires to protect communities;
• Increase funding for hazardous fuels treatment at the U.S. Forest Service by 28% above 2023 enacted levels; and,  
• Increase the Department of the Interior’s wildland fire and hazardous fuels management funding 21% above 2023 enacted levels.

Learn More About the Administration’s Approach to Wildfire Resilience

To learn more about the Federal government’s plan to respond to the increasing threat of wildfires, see the Department of Agriculture’s 10 Year Strategy to Confront the Wildfire Crisis – made possible through the fund provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also created the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission and charged it with making recommendations to improve federal policies related to the mitigation, suppression, and management of wildland fires in the United States, as well as the rehabilitation of lands devastated by wildland fire. Learn more about their work and the U.S. Fire Administration here. 

 

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:

• Nisha Desai Biswal, Nominee for Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation
• James J. Blanchard, Nominee for Member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy 
• Fara Damelin, Nominee for Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission
• Joel Ehrendreich, Nominee for Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Palau
• Kara C. McDonald, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Lithuania
• John J. Sullivan, Nominee for Member of the United States Institute of Peace Board of Directors
• Loren Sweatt, Nominee for Member of the National Mediation Board

Nisha Desai Biswal, Nominee for Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation
Nisha Desai Biswal brings over 30 years of experience in U.S. foreign policy and international development programs within the Executive Branch, Congress, and the private sector. Biswal is the Senior Vice President for International Strategy and Global Initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, overseeing the U.S. India Business Council and U.S. Bangladesh Business Council. Biswal served as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 2013 to 2017, where she oversaw the U.S.-India strategic partnership during a period of unprecedented cooperation, including the launch of an annual U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue. Biswal also initiated the C5+1 Dialogue with Central Asia and the U.S.-Bangladesh Partnership Dialogue during her tenure as Assistant Secretary. Prior to that, Biswal was Assistant Administrator for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), directing and supervising USAID programs and operations across South, Central, and Southeast Asia. She has also spent over a decade on Capitol Hill, working as Staff Director on the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on Appropriations as well as professional staff on the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives.

Biswal serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid and is on both the Board of the National Democratic Institute and the U.S. Institute of Peace International Advisory Council. She is a member of the United States Institute of Peace Afghanistan Study Group and the Aspen Institute’s India-U.S. Track 2 Dialogue on Climate and Energy. Biswal is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia, where she studied International Relations and Economics.

James J. Blanchard, Nominee for Member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy
James J. Blanchard has devoted his life to public service and the law. Currently, he is Senior Counsel at the global law firm of DLA Piper and is active with numerous diplomatic and non-profit organizations. Following his service as a Member of Congress, Blanchard served as Governor of Michigan, and later as U.S. Ambassador to Canada. In recognition of his outstanding service, Secretary of State Warren Christopher presented Blanchard with the Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service. In 1998, Blanchard authored ‘Behind the Embassy Door,’ a book highlighting his experiences as Ambassador. Blanchard remains active in U.S.-Canada relations and diplomatic affairs generally. He is Co-Chair of the Ambassadors Circle of the National Democratic Institute and Co-Chair of the executive committee of the Canada-U.S. Law Institute. He chaired the Board and remains active with the Meridian International Center, the leading public diplomacy center in Washington, D.C. A lover of history, Blanchard serves as President of the National Archives Foundation and is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Spy Museum. He and his wife Janet reside in Beverly Hills, Michigan. Blanchard received his B.A. and M.B.A. from Michigan State University (MSU) and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota. In 2015, he and his wife founded the Blanchard Public Service Forum at MSU, which provides opportunities for the MSU community to see, hear, and learn from national as well as international leaders, diplomats, and writers.

Fara Damelin, Nominee for Inspector General of the Federal Communications Commission
Fara Damelin serves as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (OIG), a nationwide organization with over 500 oversight professionals dedicated to protecting HUD’s programs and beneficiaries from fraud, waste, and abuse. She leads a cross functional team in executing the Inspector General’s (IG) priorities and strategic initiatives, developing OIG-wide oversight products, and implementing diversity, employee engagement, and professional development programs. Before joining HUD OIG, Damelin was Deputy Inspector General for AmeriCorps’ OIG, where she was responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the office, developing and implementing strategies to meet the IG’s priorities and goals, and serving as Whistleblower Protection Coordinator.

Previously, Damelin spent 14 years with the National Science Foundation (NSF) OIG as Investigative Attorney and subsequently Director of its Office of Investigations Legal Division. She conducted criminal, civil and administrative investigations involving fraud and research misconduct related to NSF grants, served as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney to help prosecute a criminal grant fraud case, and provided outreach to protect NSF programs and beneficiaries. Damelin has actively participated in cross-cutting initiatives and professional development programs sponsored by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) and was recognized with four CIGIE Awards for Excellence. She began her federal career in 1995 as an employment attorney with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of General Counsel. She earned a J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1994 and a B.A. in Political Science from SUNY Binghamton in 1991. Damelin lives in Virginia with her husband and is the proud mom of their two daughters.

Joel Ehrendreich, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Palau
Joel Ehrendreich, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Counselor, currently serves as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Previously, he served as Director of Regional and Security Policy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to that, he was Senior Operations Officer in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, a Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, a Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Okinawa, Japan, an Economic Counselor at U.S. Embassy in Manila, the Philippines, and an Economic and Political Counselor at U.S. Embassy in Singapore. Earlier assignments include service at U.S. Embassies in New Delhi, India, Tokyo, Japan, Sydney, Australia, and the West African nation of Togo. Ehrendreich also served in the White House Situation Room as a Senior Duty Officer. Earlier in his career, he served in the Peace Corps in Niger. A native of Nebraska, Ehrendreich graduated from Drake University with a B.A. in Business Administration. He speaks French and Japanese. 

Kara C. McDonald, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Lithuania
Kara C. McDonald, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, currently serves as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. From January 2021 to April 2022, she was designated to serve concurrently as the Senior Official to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism for the Office of the Special Envoy. Previously, she was U.S. Consul General Strasbourg and Deputy Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe. She has also served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Chisinau, Moldova, Director of Policy, Planning, and Coordination in the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau, Deputy Special Coordinator for Haiti, Director for United Nations and International Operations at the National Security Council, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and the Czech Republic desk. McDonald was also an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her other overseas assignments include U.S. Embassies in Bucharest and Port-au-Prince. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of State, McDonald was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development.  Raised in Michigan, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Arts degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She speaks French, Romanian, and Russian.

John J. Sullivan, Nominee for Member of the United States Institute of Peace Board of Directors
John J. Sullivan is a partner in the law firm Mayer Brown L.L.P. and a Distinguished Fellow at the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University. His career spans four decades in public service in prominent diplomatic and legal positions under five Presidents as well as in private law practice. Most recently, he was the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation from December 2019 to October 2022. Prior to his post in Moscow, Sullivan served for almost three years as the Deputy Secretary of State. In private practice at Mayer Brown, Sullivan has been a member of the Supreme Court and Appellate practice and was a Co-Founder of the National Security practice. During the Obama-Biden Administration, he was appointed Chair of the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialogue, a government advisory committee of business leaders on US commercial relations with Iraq. Previously, Sullivan held senior positions in the Departments of Justice, Defense, and Commerce in two prior administrations. Until January 2009, he was the Deputy Secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush, following his service as the General Counsel of the department. In President Bush’s first term, he was appointed Deputy General Counsel of the Defense Department by Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. In the George H.W. Bush Administration, he was Counselor to Assistant Attorney General J. Michael Luttig in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

Sullivan received his B.A. from Brown University and his law degree from the Columbia University School of Law. Sullivan is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his work in foreign affairs, diplomacy, law, and public policy.

Loren Sweatt, Nominee for Member of the National Mediation Board
Loren Sweatt has served in various government roles throughout her professional career. Most recently, Sweatt has been a Senior Professional Staffer with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions in the United States Senate. Prior to that, Sweatt was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor. For 15 years, Sweatt served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the House of Representatives. Her experience includes all facets of labor policy. Sweatt holds a Bachelor’s from Texas Christian University and a Master’s of Business Administration from Marymount University.

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Today, Jill and I send our best wishes to everyone celebrating Nowruz across the United States and around the world—from the Middle East, to Central and South Asia, to the Caucasus, to Europe.
 
The Nowruz holiday brings loved ones together around the Haft-Sin table to reflect on the year that has passed and renew hope for the year ahead. This year, Nowruz comes at a difficult time for many families, when hope is needed more than ever—including for the women of Iran who are fighting for their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The United States will continue to stand with them, and all the citizens of Iran who are inspiring the world with their conviction and courage. And together with our partners, we will continue to hold Iranian officials accountable for their attacks against their people.
 
As we welcome the season of spring—and the new growth and possibility it brings—we have decorated our Haft-Sin table at the White House to reflect our hopes for the new year. And, we join Americans everywhere in celebrating the diverse diaspora communities who continue to strengthen the fabric of our nation, generation after generation. To everyone celebrating, Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak—we wish you a peaceful and prosperous new year.

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The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus has made their priorities clear: imposing devastating cuts to public safety and increasing costs for working- and middle-class families, all to protect and extend tax breaks skewed to the wealthy and big corporations. In fact, their tax cuts would be so expensive that their deep and harmful cuts would not reduce the deficit.

That’s in sharp contrast with the President’s Budget, which invests in America, lowers costs for families, protects and strengthens Medicare and Social Security, and reduces the deficit by $3 trillion over 10 years, while ensuring no one making less than $400,000 per year pays a penny more in new taxes.

Combined with other commitments extreme MAGA House Republicans have already made, the extreme Freedom Caucus proposal will be a disaster for families in at least five key ways: endangering public safety, raising costs for families, shipping manufacturing jobs overseas and undermining American workers, weakening national security, and hurting seniors.

Last week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) confirmed that Congressional Republicans’ budget math doesn’t add up. CBO found that—in order to meet Congressional Republicans’ stated commitment to balancing the budget in 10 years without raising taxes on the wealthy or corporations, and without cutting Social Security, Medicare, defense, and some veterans’ benefits—Congressional Republicans would need to eliminate everything in the rest of the Federal budget.

The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal will be a five-alarm fire for families—including by endangering public safety. While the President’s Budget proposes smart investments to improve public safety, strengthen border security, and improve the safety of our transportation networks, extreme MAGA Republicans are pushing draconian cuts to these critical national priorities that would endanger Americans’ safety. 

Their proposals will:

• Make Our Border Less Secure The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would eliminate funding for more than 2,000 Customs and Border Protection agents and officers and severely undermine our ability to secure the border and combat drug trafficking—allowing an additional 150,000 pounds of cocaine, nearly 900 pounds of fentanyl, nearly 2,000 pounds of heroin, and more than 17,000 pounds of methamphetamine into our country.
   
• Defund the Police and Make Communities Less Safe. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would eliminate funding for 11,000 FBI personnel, including agents who investigate crimes and keep guns out of the hands of felons and domestic abusers. Their plan would cut Federal support to 60 local law enforcement agencies, eliminating 400 local law enforcement positions, slash law enforcement, crime prevention and justice grants to local and state governments by an average of $30,000 per locality and $1 million per state. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) would have to implement a hiring freeze that would mean 190 agents, 130 Industry Operations Investigators, and 180 technical and support staff would be lost to attrition—and ATF’s entire workforce of over 5,000 personnel would have to take 36 furlough days, further undermining their operations. ATF agents are often some of the first federal law enforcement on the scene of a mass shooting to help local law enforcement identify at-large shooters.
   
• Scale Back Rail Safety Inspections. At a time when train derailments are wreaking havoc on community safety, the extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would lead to 11,000 fewer rail safety inspection days next year alone, and 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually—enough track to cross the United States nearly 10 times. Since the Norfolk Southern train derailment, bipartisan Senators have called for more rail inspections, not fewer.
   
• Jeopardize Air Safety and Increase Airport Security Wait Times. The extreme MAGA Republican House Freedom Caucus proposal would shut down services at 125 Air Traffic Control Towers across the country—undermining safety at one third of all U.S. airports—and increase wait times at TSA security check points by an average of 30 minutes.

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We welcome the meeting and understandings reached today in Sharm El Sheikh between senior political and security officials of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. This was the second such meeting in this format, with participation by senior officials from the United States, Egypt, and Jordan, following the gathering in Aqaba three weeks ago. The participants noted that meetings at this level have not taken place in nearly a decade, and that these meetings are building toward establishing a series of understandings upon which to deescalate tensions.  We look forward to continuing these discussions as we enter the Holy month of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, and over the months to follow.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. He welcomed the March 19 meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, between senior political and security officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, and the United States with an aim to reduce tensions. The President reinforced the need for all sides to take urgent, collaborative steps to enhance security coordination, condemn all acts of terrorism, and maintain the viability of a two-state solution.  The President also underscored his belief that democratic values have always been, and must remain, a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship, that democratic societies are strengthened by genuine checks and balances, and that fundamental changes should be pursued with the broadest possible base of popular support. The President offered support for efforts underway to forge a compromise on proposed judicial reforms consistent with those core principles. The two leaders also discussed tensions and violence in the West Bank. Finally, President Biden reiterated his unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and the ongoing cooperation between our national security teams, including to counter all threats posed by Iran. Both leaders agreed to stay in regular contact over the coming weeks. 

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This week, the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) held its Quarterly Business Meeting. They were welcomed by White House Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall.  Following their examination of cross-cutting critical infrastructure policy challenges, members discussed and adopted a forthcoming report to the President that identifies barriers to collaboration between critical infrastructure sectors on matters of security and resilience, and made several recommendations to address them.  Among the recommendations, the report identifies the need for outcome-based goals and mandatory standards governing the security and resilience of critical infrastructure assets. Additionally, recognizing that failures to critical infrastructure disproportionately impact our nation’s most vulnerable populations, the NIAC recommended deliberately including these vulnerable communities in planning and recovery.  Members also highlighted the need for targeted drills and exercises to improve incident response across interdependent infrastructure sectors and supply chains.  The NIAC is currently comprised of 25 executive leaders from the private sector and state, local, and tribal governments who advise the President on how to reduce physical and cyber risks and improve the security and resilience of the nation’s critical infrastructure.

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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley spoke today with Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi to discuss steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine’s armed forces as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion.  The Ukrainian officials provided an update on battlefield conditions and expressed appreciation for the continued provision of U.S. security assistance.  The U.S. officials reaffirmed the unwavering support of the United States for Ukraine as defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity.  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine joined the call at the conclusion.

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President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. held a bilateral meeting ahead of a St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar of Ireland at the White House.  The leaders reaffirmed the historic ties and shared values that link the United States and Ireland, as well as the extraordinary bonds between our people.  They discussed their countries’ shared commitment to continue supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal aggression, with President Biden praising the generosity of the Irish people in hosting 80,000 people who have fled the conflict. They also talked about their cooperation on a range of other global issues. The leaders reaffirmed their steadfast support for the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement as we approach its 25th anniversary and welcomed the Windsor Framework as an important step in preserving the Agreement’s peace dividend.  In addition, they discussed the robust trade and investment between our countries, as well as steps to strengthen the resilience of our economies.

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The United States welcomes President Erdogan’s announcement that he will send Finland’s NATO accession protocols to the Turkish Parliament and looks forward to the prompt conclusion of that process. We encourage Türkiye to quickly ratify Sweden’s accession protocols as well. In addition, we urge Hungary to conclude its ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay.  Sweden and Finland are both strong, capable partners that share NATO’s values and will strengthen the Alliance and contribute to European security. The United States believes that both countries should become members of NATO as soon as possible.

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