Senate Democrats on Thursday criticized President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Belgium, Bill White, arguing his platforming of a convicted Belgium Holocaust denier made him unfit for the role.
The Republican-controlled Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced White’s nomination on Wednesday, part of an effort to move forward more than two dozen of Trump’s ambassador and State Department nominees that had stalled in the Senate amid pushback from Democrats.
White’s nomination was singled out by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as one of the most appalling ambassador picks among a pack of nominees largely rejected by all Democrats.
“I think this is a grievous mistake to approve someone to be ambassador to Belgium who has tweeted out and platformed, an antisemitic Holocaust-denying Belgium convicted criminal, [this] is a real dark mark on this committee,” Kaine said at the meeting.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center in July 2024 reported a fivefold increase in antisemitic incidents in Belgium since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel, and the resulting war in the Gaza Strip.
White, president & CEO of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, is a prolific fundraiser for veterans groups. He came under criticism during his confirmation hearing for reposting support on X for Dries Van Langenhove, a far-right Belgian activist who was convicted for violating laws surrounding racism and historical falsification, among other charges.
“Mr. White has a background of doing good things for veterans… If he had been nominated to be ambassador to another country, platforming a Belgian, Holocaust-denying, antisemitic convicted criminal might not have been a disqualifier,” Kaine said.
“But to put this guy in as ambassador to Belgium right now is a very bad move, it’s going to send a bad message of U.S. respect for Belgium and U.S. commitment to combatting antisemitism.”
Kaine said White’s decision to platform Van Langenhove, as well as a series of social media posts promoting conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election, using profane language to target Georgian elected officials for prosecution and describing Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as a “snake,” did not demonstrate the “judgement and ability to be a diplomat.”
White, during his confirmation hearing, walked back his calls to prosecute Georgian officials and said that when he was made aware of Van Langenhove’s record he removed the tweets.
Sen. Bill Haggerty (R-Tenn.) defended White at the business meeting and said that White regretted platforming Van Langenhove and was engaged with the pro-Israel community, on top of his fundraising for wounded warriors.
Haggerty said he also expected former U.S. ambassador to Belgium Ronald Gidwitz to serve as a sort of mentor to White.
“Ron has met with Mr. White and pledged to continue to work with Mr. White to mentor… He feels confident Mr. White sufficiently regrets the mistake he made.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, voted against White in the party-line even as she did vote in favor of some of Trump’s nominees.
Shaheen said she found upsetting that White continued to “tweet out inappropriate comments” after he had been nominated, saying there’s a difference between what you say as a private citizen and when you become a public, U.S. government representative.