BEIRUT — As a political deadlock continues to hinder the election of a president in Lebanon six months into a presidential vacuum, members of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee urged the Biden administration to support presidential candidates who will be accountable to the Lebanese people.
In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden on Tuesday chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and ranking member of the committee Jim Risch (R-Idaho) expressed their concerns regarding the political stalemate, which they accused the Shiite Hezbollah group and its allies of engineering.
“It is alarming to see the use of Lebanon’s presidential selection process as an obstacle to a capable and empowered government,” the letter said.
The two bipartisan high-ranking senators urged the White House "to clearly reinforce the urgent need for the formation of a Lebanese government that is committed to governing transparently and addressing the desperate needs of the Lebanese people, rather than enriching cronies or enabling bad actors like Hezbollah to further derail Lebanese democracy."
