{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-tapped-for-leadership-post-will-join-senate-foreign-relations-committee", "Merkley Tapped for Leadership Post, Will Join Senate Foreign Relations Committee", "2016-12-19", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Jeff Merkley", "M001176", "www.merkley.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Merkley Tapped for Leadership Post, Will Join Senate Foreign Relations Committee \n\t\n\t\n\tMonday, December 19, 2016\n\t\n\tWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s Senator Jeff Merkley announced today that he has been appointed Chief Deputy Whip of the Senate Democratic Caucus and will also join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 115th Congress beginning in January.\r\nAs a member of the newly constituted Democratic leadership team, Merkley will bring strong relationships with grassroots progressive groups and a reputation for digging deep on policy. He also brings experience winning back a majority -- as minority leader in Oregon's House of Representatives, Merkley engineered a Democratic takeover in 2006, becoming Oregon's first Democratic Speaker of the House in 16 years.\r\nMerkley will also serve on the prestigious Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which plays a critical role in the development of the United States\u2019 foreign policy and has jurisdiction over diplomatic nominations including the Secretary of State.\r\n \r\n \u201cI am honored to join the leadership team and help carry the fight for good living wage jobs, a secure retirement, and opportunity for all Americans,\u201d said Merkley.\u00a0 \u201cNow, more than ever, billionaires and special interests are looking to stack the deck in their favor at the expense of the rest of us. \u00a0We have big battles in front of us, and I\u2019m ready to fight for our vision of a \u2018We the People\u2019 nation.\u00a0\r\n\u201cI\u2019m also looking forward to serving on the Foreign Relations Committee at a time of substantial international upheaval and national security concerns,\u201d Merkley continued.\u00a0 \u201cSome of the biggest challenges we face as Americans are international, like climate change, violent extremism, and globalization, and require global cooperation. We can\u2019t give all Americans the opportunities they deserve without a strong, thoughtful foreign policy.\u201d\r\n \r\nIn joining the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Merkley is returning to his foreign policy roots.\u00a0 Earlier in his career he worked in the Pentagon and then as an analyst of strategic nuclear arms programs for Congress.\u00a0 Later he ran the World Affairs Council in Oregon. Merkley has a master\u2019s degree in international economic development from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and has studied and worked abroad in a number of countries including Ghana, Mexico, and India.\r\nMerkley will continue to sit on the Senate\u2019s Appropriations, Budget, and Environment and Public Works Committees.\u00a0 While he will no longer serve on the Senate Banking Committee, Merkley will continue to be an outspoken voice for consumer protections and Wall Street reform.\r\n \r\n\u201cToo many Americans lost everything due to the unrestrained greed of Wall Street,\u201d said Merkley. \u201cTogether, we have worked to close the Wall Street casino, to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and to eliminate predatory mortgages and other tricks and traps designed to exploit consumers. \u00a0I remain committed to fighting to prevent Wall Street from taking advantage of American families and small businesses.\u201d\r\n \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n     \n\t\n \n\t\n    \n    \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t  \n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n      \n    \n    \n    \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-tapped-for-leadership-post-will-join-senate-foreign-relations-committee"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9421931356191635, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}