ICYMI: Shaheen’s Middle East Visit Makes Waves

Washington, DC) - Last week, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, concluded a bipartisan congressional delegation she led to the Middle East with stops in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. During the visits, Shaheen met with heads of state, top officials, civil society leaders and led the most senior congressional delegation to Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.

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Union Leader Editorial: Shaheen shines: What she did this summer

• Jeanne Shaheen doesn’t appear to be slacking off any as her time as a U.S. senator from New Hampshire draws near its end.

• While some in Congress were taking a summer holiday, Shaheen was overseas, not in cushy environs but in hot spots, including Syria and Lebanon. Her visit to Syria marked the first official U.S. delegation to that dangerous ground since the toppling of the corrupt and dangerous Assad regime.

• “A Syria that can stand on its own after ridding itself of the Assad regime will be a cornerstone for regional stability in the Middle East,” she said last week, advancing a proposal, with Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, to lift American sanctions now that the nation is free of Assad.

• Whether the sanctions plan is right for right now is debatable but it is important that someone is paying attention to a Mideast issue that has been crowded out of the headlines by the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

• Shaheen, at 78 years of age, has more energy and verve than many people half her age. Her name recognition and incumbency might have been her golden ticket to another six-year term in 2026 but she wisely decided to retire. In the meantime, her continued hard work, including as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is a credit to her and to New Hampshire.

Union Leader: Shaheen says Jordan a critical ally to delivering peace in Gaza, Syria

• Following a bipartisan trip to Jordan, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said that country’s cooperation with the West is critical to delivering humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to achieving a lasting peace in neighboring Syria.

• “Jordan is a major non-NATO ally and the U.S. and Jordan have a longstanding partnership that has been a cornerstone of regional stability. Jordan is instrumental in facilitating aid throughout the region, especially during the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” Shaheen said.

• On Monday, Shaheen and Wilson brought the delegation to Syria for a series of meetings that included a session with President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Shaheen became the first member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to visit Syria since al-Assad was overthrown, which had been a policy goal of the U.S. for decades.

New York Times: Lawmakers Visit Syria to Push for Repealing Sanctions Law

• Two members of Congress visited the Syrian Arab Republic as part of efforts to permanently repeal US sanctions placed on the country during its civil war. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, met with Syria's transitional president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, in Damascus on Monday along with other top officials. They said ending the sanctions placed on the regime of former leader Bashar Assad is crucial to allow the country to recover from years of conflict, and to attract outside investment.

• “A Syria that can stand on its own after ridding itself of the Assad regime will be a cornerstone for regional stability in the Middle East," Shaheen said in a statement. "America is ready to be a partner to a new Syria that moves in the right direction." She added: "There is a long way to go, but it's very positive and the potential is really amazing. The people that we met with were hopeful about the future.”

• While Trump can extend the pauses on sanctions, new legislation is required to curb them permanently, ending uncertainty about Syria's economic future. Shaheen and Wilson intend to do so via the upcoming annual National Defense Authorization Act, adding legislation to the bill that relates to foreign and military policy.

NPR All Things Considered: Congress members visit Syria, urge end of sanctions

• Two members of Congress visited Syria this week, a Republican and a Democrat. They say they want to give Syria's new government a chance to rebuild after a devastating civil war that ended when longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted last year. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that the lawmakers say it's time for the U.S. to repeal sanctions to give Syria a chance.

• Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, says she was impressed by Syria's new president, who met with her at the palace where ousted leader Bashar al-Assad once ruled over Syria.

CNN International: Key Quotes from Senator Shaheen

• “One of the reasons I came to the Middle East this week is because there is a historic opportunity in Syria and Lebanon to change the direction that we've seen in both of those countries, Lebanon has made some very important, courageous moves to address the challenges that they face. They've elected a president after two years without one, they've put in place a technocratic Prime Minister who has ministers that are beginning to look at reforms to make the government work. In Lebanon, they've had judicial reform. They've had reform of their civil service. They're working on their infrastructure needs, on how to create more job opportunities. And one of the things that we've heard from everyone we've met with is that it is time now for all of the groups to think about how to live together in the future.”

• “I think there is a historic opportunity in Syria. After decades of a vicious dictator in Assad ... the Syrian people finally are able to see freedom in the country. Now, there is a lot of work to do. And in our conversations with interim President Sharaa, we talked about some of those challenges. We talked about the need to be inclusive, that there are a lot of groups that were marginalized during the Assad years, who have to be brought in.”

• “We need to see what the plans are to ensure that the Palestinians have a state. It's been the position of the United States, as long as I've been involved in politics, that we should have a two state solution, that the Palestinians need their own homeland, and one of the things that will prevent future wars is to ensure that the Palestinians have a place that they can call home.”

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