Sullivan is currently Pompeo’s Deputy Secretary of state.

On Wednesday, the Senate foreign relations Committee holds a confirmation hearing for John Sullivan for the post of US Ambassador to Russia.
Before the hearing, the senior Democratic Senator on the Senate foreign relations Committee, Bob Menendez (R-new Jersey), issued a statement in which he stressed that the US State Department is “at the forefront of our national defense” and is designed to defend national interests through diplomacy, not conflict.

“Never in my 27 years (in Congress) have I seen the state Department run so badly and many of our diplomats denigrate it,” Senator Menendez said. “And you don’t have to take my word for it, just look at the testimony of two patriots: Ambassador Jovanovic and Ambassador Taylor. The slander of these two dedicated public servants is a disgrace. The state Department is confused, it has become a victim of Donald Trump’s decision to use US national security as a political weapon.”

“Never in my 27 years (in Congress) have I seen the state Department run so badly and many of our diplomats denigrate it,” Senator Menendez said. “And you don’t have to take my word for it, just look at the testimony of two patriots: Ambassador Yovanovitch and Ambassador Taylor. The slander of these two dedicated public servants is a disgrace. The state Department is confused, it has become a victim of Donald Trump’s decision to use US national security as a political weapon.”

Menendez said he tentatively supports Sullivan’s nomination for U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, but before he is ready to vote for it, he expects to hear honest and thorough answers from the diplomat on the Ukrainian cause and on how specifically he intends to defend the national interests of the United States while working in Moscow.

According to Reuters, answering one of Senator Menendez’s questions, Sullivan acknowledged that he was aware earlier this year that trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani was involved in a campaign against the US Ambassador to Kyiv, Marie Jovanovic.

In addition, answering the question of lawmakers about how the United States can prevent the implementation of the Nord stream-2 gas pipeline project, John Sullivan said that it is likely that Washington will not be able to prevent this construction, the volume of which has already been completed by 80%, and the introduction of new sanctions is unlikely to help do so.