Washington D.C., Sep 18, 2019 / 10:40 am
The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm a prominent Catholic law professor to a high-ranking State Department position.
By a margin of 49 to 44, Robert Destro, a law professor at Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, was confirmed by the Senate as the next Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) joined Democrats in opposition to Destro's confirmation.
"Robert Destro is one of the nation's experts on human rights, both in terms of international law and the moral basis for human rights," Thomas Farr, president of the Religious Freedom Institute, told CNA in a statement, noting Destro's experience both as a human rights scholar and activist "in the best sense of that term."
Destro's new role at the State Department is tasked with promoting democracy, civic and religious freedom around the world.