Tom Cotton drops opposition to vote on Biden choice for top China post
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Tom Cotton has removed his hold on President Joe Biden's nominee for a key post in the U.S.-China tech battle, after the official said he would "aggressively" police tech exports to Beijing, according to a Cotton aide and a document seen by Reuters.
The decision removes a hurdle to a final confirmation vote on Alan Estevez's nomination as undersecretary for the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), but it is unclear whether Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who opposed the nominee in a committee vote, will allow the process to move ahead quickly.
Estevez, a former Pentagon official, was nominated in July for the position at BIS, the agency that oversees U.S. exports and which has found itself at the center of the U.S.-China tech war.
But Cotton last month placed a "hold" on a final Senate confirmation vote, demanding answers to written questions aimed at assessing whether Estevez would tow a hard line on China. A Cotton aide told Reuters on Monday that the senator from Arkansas had removed his hold after receiving a letter from the nominee.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-senator-drops-opposition-vote-173319361.html
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