Open search page

Congress.wiki Alpha

Color Theme:

About How Congress Works Support Us Roadmap Privacy Policy Terms of Service

This is not an official government website.

Copyright © 2026 PLEJ LC. All rights reserved.

Joel Rayburn To Be Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs · Congress.wiki

civilianWITHDRAWN

Joel Rayburn To Be Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs

PN25-45

Joel Rayburn, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs), vice Barbara A. Leaf, resigned.

1Nominees

6Actions

0Hearings

1Committees

Progress

Received

Committee

Hearing

Result

Committees

Committee on Foreign RelationsSenate

Timeline

Received11 months ago (February 11, 2025)

Authority3 months ago (October 27, 2025)

Last ActionOctober 27, 2025

Action History

FloorOctober 27, 2025

Received message of withdrawal of nomination from the President.

CalendarsOctober 22, 2025

Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar No. 487. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Senate.

CommitteeOctober 22, 2025

Reported by Senator Risch, Committee on Foreign Relations, without recommendation without printed report.

CommitteeOctober 22, 2025

Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported without recommendation.

CommitteeMay 15, 2025

Committee on Foreign Relations. Hearings held.

Nominees

Related Nominations

This nomination is part of a batch. PN25-45 has 56 parts total.

Assistant Secretary of Health and Human ServicesCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of Labor (Department of Labor)CONFIRMED General Counsel, Department of Veterans AffairsCONFIRMED U.S. Trade Representative (Ambassador)CONFIRMED Chief Executive Officer, U.S. International Development Finance CorporationCONFIRMED U.S. Ambassador to PanamaCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of Health and Human ServicesCONFIRMED General Counsel, Department of AgricultureCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of the TreasuryWITHDRAWN Under Secretary Of State For Arms Control And International SecurityCONFIRMED Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection AgencyCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary Of EnergyWITHDRAWN Assistant Secretary Of Commerce — Director General, U.S. & Foreign Commercial S CONFIRMED U.S. Ambassador to JapanCONFIRMED Comptroller Of The CurrencyCONFIRMED EPA Chief Financial OfficerCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary Of CommerceWITHDRAWN U.S. Ambassador To CanadaCONFIRMED Under Secretary Of State (Political Affairs)CONFIRMED U.S. Ambassador to IsraelCONFIRMED Under Secretary Of Agriculture For Research, Education, And EconomicsCONFIRMED U.S. Ambassador To MexicoCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary Of CommerceCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian AffairsCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary Of LaborCONFIRMED Under Secretary Of EducationCONFIRMED Director Of The National Counterterrorism Center (ODNI)CONFIRMED Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection AgencyCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of LaborCONFIRMED Director Of U.S. Geological SurveyCONFIRMED General Counsel, Department of EducationWITHDRAWN Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial ProtectionWITHDRAWN Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationCONFIRMED General Counsel, Department Of The TreasuryCONFIRMED Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult EducationWITHDRAWN Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business AffairsCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and HealthCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary Of The TreasuryCONFIRMED Chief Financial Officer — Department of EnergyCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military AffairsWITHDRAWN Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading CommissionWITHDRAWN Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading CommissionWITHDRAWN Assistant Secretary Of CommerceWITHDRAWN Assistant Secretary For Civil Rights, Department Of EducationCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, Dept. of Ed.CONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergyCONFIRMED Under Secretary of State for Public DiplomacyCONFIRMED Legal Adviser, Department Of StateCONFIRMED Director Of The Bureau Of Land ManagementWITHDRAWN General Counsel, Department Of Health And Human ServicesCONFIRMED Assistant Administrator, Environmental Protection AgencyCONFIRMED Chief Financial Officer, Department of Veterans AffairsCONFIRMED Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentCONFIRMED U.S. Permanent Representative On NATO CouncilCONFIRMED

Committee Meetings

3 meetings related to this nomination

Business meeting to consider S.2960, to develop economic tools to deter aggression by the People's Republic of China against Taiwan, S.2130, to make improvements to the AUKUS partnership, S.2424, to require a report of, and a strategy to combat, arms sales of the Government of the People's Republic of China, S.1744, to amend the Arms Export Control Act to include Taiwan among the list of recipient countries with respect to which shorter certification and reporting periods apply and to expedite licensing for allies transferring military equipment to Taiwan, S.2626, to strengthen the leadership role of the United States at the Inter-American Development Bank, S.2146, to require the United States Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund to advocate for increased transparency with respect to exchange rate policies of the People's Republic of China, S.2950, to require the Secretary of State and relevant executive branch agencies to address international scam compounds defrauding people in the United States, to hold significant transnational criminal organizations accountable, S.2550, to provide for international cooperation to secure critical mineral supply chains, S.1854, to require the imposition of sanctions with respect to political and economic elites in Haiti, S.2657, to impose sanctions relating to the support of the People's Republic of China for the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, S.2018, to modify certain limitations and exclusions regarding defense articles and requirements regarding security assistance and sales with respect to the Republic of Cyprus, S.799, to establish and implement a multi-year Legal Gold and Mining Partnership Strategy to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of illicit gold mining in the Western Hemisphere, S.2684, to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, to counter efforts by the People's Republic of China to coerce or pressure governments into breaking such ties, to deepen coordination with Taiwan on diplomatic, development, and economic engagement in the Western Hemisphere, S.2224, to amend the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019 to provide that the United States, in its role as a member of any international organizations, should oppose any attempts by the People's Republic of China to resolve Taiwan's status by distorting the decisions, language, policies, or procedures of any such organization, S.2918, to amend the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act to improve the implementation of the seizure of Russian sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine, S.1000, to establish an Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs, S.Res.409, recognizing the 74th anniversary of the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Philippines and the strong bilateral security alliance between our two nations in the wake of escalating aggression and political lawfare by the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea, S.2978, to provide for the designation of the Russian Federation as a state sponsor of terrorism, and S.Res.226, condemning the Government of the People's Republic of China for engaging in transnational repression, and the nominations of Joel Rayburn, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary (Near Eastern Affairs), and Andrew Veprek, of Louisiana, to be an Assistant Secretary (Population, Refugees, and Migration), both of the Department of State.

Committee on Foreign RelationsCapitol (Senate side), 116Oct 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM

Business meeting to consider S.1397, to require the Secretary of State to establish a quantum cooperation program to enhance international cooperation in quantum information science, S.1463, to allow the Secretary of the Interior to enter into memoranda of understanding for the purpose of scientific and technical cooperation in the mapping of critical minerals and rare earth elements, S.1478, to provide the United States Government with additional tools to deter state and non-state actors from wrongfully detaining United States nationals for political leverage, S.1579, to provide for the treatment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as international organizations for purposes of the International Organizations Immunities Act, S.1731, to require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy in response to the global basing intentions of the People's Republic of China, S.1780, to provide for congressional oversight of security assistance to Mexico, S.1801, to facilitate the development of a whole-of-government strategy for nuclear cooperation and nuclear exports, S.Res.227, condemning Hamas for its premeditated, coordinated, and brutal terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, against Israel and demanding that Hamas immediately release all remaining hostages and return them to safety, S.1900, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to pursue more equitable treatment of Taiwan at the international financial institutions, S.1883, to require the executive branch to develop a whole-of-government strategy to disrupt growing cooperation among the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which are the foremost adversaries of the United States, and mitigate the risks posed to the United States, and the nominations of Joel Rayburn, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, Chris Pratt, of Utah, to be an Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, and Michael DeSombre, of Illinois, to be an Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, all of the Department of State.

Business meeting to consider the nominations of Caleb Orr, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary (Economic and Business Affairs), Kenneth Howery, of Texas, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, Callista Gingrich, of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Swiss Confederation, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Principality of Liechtenstein, Somers Farkas, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, Leandro Rizzuto, of Florida, to be Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the Organization of American States, with the rank of Ambassador, all of the Department of State; to be immediately followed by a hearing to examine the nominations of Joel Rayburn, of Oklahoma, to be an Assistant Secretary (Near Eastern Affairs), Chris Pratt, of Utah, to be an Assistant Secretary (Political-Military Affairs), and Michael DeSombre, of Illinois, to be an Assistant Secretary (East Asian and Pacific Affairs), all of the Department of State.

Committee on Foreign Relations

Committee on Foreign RelationsCapitol (Senate side), 116Jun 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM

View Committee

Dirksen Senate Office Building, 419

May 15, 2025 at 2:30 PM

View Committee

25-45-119-joel-rayburn

Joel Rayburn

Assistant Secretary of State (Near Eastern Affairs) · Department of State

Oklahoma