Holbrooke Appears Set for Confirmation

The last remaining obstacle to Senate confirmation of Richard C. Holbrooke as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations fell as Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) dropped his “hold” on Holbrooke’s nomination. With other senators quietly abandoning efforts to hold Holbrooke hostage for unrelated concessions by the administration, Holbrooke’s long-stalled confirmation appears inevitable. But it spelled trouble for three of President Clinton’s other ambassadorial choices: A. Peter Burleigh for the Philippines, Carl Spielvogel for the Slovak Republic and J. Richard Fredericks for Switzerland. In a speech to the Senate, Grassley indicated he would shift his hold to them to force the State Department to protect whistle-blowers and reach an accommodation with Linda Shenwick, an employee who complained to Congress about waste and mismanagement at the United Nations.