Menendez remains president of the Senate International Relations Committee and what this means for Greece
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
The preservation of the control of the Senate by the Democrats ia particularly important for the national issues of Greece since it also allows the philhellene senator Robert Menendez to remain chairman of the powerful International Relations Committee.
Sen. Kathryn Cortes Masto's win over Republican challenger Adam Laxalt (who was endorsed by former US President Donald Trump) in Nevada, however narrow, was enough to keep Democrats in control of at least one from both Houses of Congress, while their Republican opponents appear to have a fragile majority in the House of Representatives.
And while the Senate makeup may not yet be official, it appears that Sen. Bob Menendez will remain chairman of the International Relations Committee. Even as a senior official he could wield considerable power – including vetoing military equipment sales to foreign countries – but as President his ability to set the agenda and influence the administration is greater. Menendez famously opposes Turkey's request to buy 40 F-16s and upgrade another 80, most of which are grounded at military airfields.
When Ankara tabled the request to buy and upgrade the F-16s, few in Washington linked it to Turkish overflights and violations in the Aegean, but Menendez and Rep. Chris Papas passed related amendments.
Equally important, especially for Congress, is that all the ex-pats who ran from Gus Bilirakis, John Sarbanes and Diana Titus to Chris Papas and Nicole Malliotakis were re-elected. The most prominent Philhellene running for re-election to the Senate, Chris Van Hollen – scored an easy victory. And the next great Philhellene in American politics – Sen. Menendez's son, Robert Menendez Jr. – scored a decisive victory in New Jersey and will take his seat in the House of Representatives in January.
Those victories were bolstered by losses suffered by Ankara and Erdogan, who were eyeing a "red wave" after Turkey's president said talks with "Republicans" over the sale of the F-16s were positive. Particularly significant was the defeat of Turkish-American doctor Dr Mehmet Oz, who has ties to Erdogan – the start of a nightmare for the Turkish president, which has seen all those leading efforts to put the brakes on F-16 sales to Turkey re-elected
