John Cornyn

A Texas Republican U.S. senator used his vote for two of President Donald Trump's diplomatic nominees to ensure the administration would distribute funds meant for a U.S. global initiative on HIV/AIDS prevention.

Sen. John Cornyn used his vote on Wednesday, July 22, in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to get the White House to commit to distributing more than $270 million in congressionally allocated funds from Trump's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Before the committee voted on the nomination of Kari Lake’s ambassadorship to Jamaica and Doug Mastriano’s to Slovakia, Cornyn told Semafor on July 21 that he would withhold his vote if the White House didn't commit to using PEPFAR.

With 12 Republicans and 10 Democrats on the committee, Cornyn's vote was significant. If he had joined Democrats in opposing the nominees, the panel would have been split 11-11, preventing the nominations from moving to the Senate floor.

“The only way it seems like you can get the administration’s attention on some of these funding issues is by using the leverage to withhold votes on nominees,” Cornyn told Semafor.

After receiving assurances from the Trump administration that the PEPFAR funds would be used as Congress intended, Cornyn cast his vote in support of the nominees. The nominations advanced out of committee, 12-10, and are headed to the Senate floor for a majority vote.

A spokesperson for Cornyn told USA TODAY that the senator "will be closely watching future action on PEPFAR to ensure they make good on these assurances ahead of a floor vote on these nominations."

What is PEPFAR?

PEPFAR is a key achievement of former President George W. Bush, with Republicans shielding it from cuts in last year’s rescissions package.

Since its creation in 2003, the U.S. has invested more than $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, saving more than 25 million lives and preventing millions of HIV infections, according to HIV.gov. The program also supports several countries to achieve HIV epidemic control while promoting the long-term sustainability of their responses.

PEPFAR is managed and overseen by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy but is implemented by seven departments and agencies.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at [email protected].