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NEW: a fight is brewing amongst House Democrats for the Foreign Affairs Committee chair ahead of tomorrow's vote, where Gregory Meeks’s expected cakewalk to the position is being upended by concerns over his record of corruption. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
Of particular concern is an incident where a Meeks staffer sued a Meeks donor for sexual assault. Meeks then fired the staffer. When she complained and brought a suit against him, he settled it out of a secret taxpayer funded slush fund. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
Meeks also went to Venezuela to talk with Hugo Chavez on behalf of a donor who was having trouble with a Venezuelan banker. The banker was in jail a year later. The donor was later sentenced to 110 years for running a Ponzi scheme. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
He later got popped for taking an oil company funded trip to Azerbaijan, contra House rules, and then stumping for industry-favored sanctions exceptions on pipelines. And he was implicated in a scheme defrauding Hurricane Katrina victims. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
That alone wouldn’t be enough to down him, but Brad Sherman dropped out of the running late last night, which opens up a window for Joaquin Castro, who has the full support of the progressive and Hispanic caucuses. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
After impeaching Donald Trump for his corruption of foreign policy, there's concern elevating Meeks would send the wrong message from Joe Biden's anticorruption and transparency party. Castro, meanwhile, would end the war in Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
So, the Democratic Party will either end up with a House Foreign Affairs chair who represents the new and growing call for a progressive foreign policy that's actually in line w voters, ending wars and arms sales to corrupt regimes. Or they'll pick Meeks. https://prospect.org/politics/the-house-foreign-affairs-committee-showdown/
