--- description: NOMINATION PROCRASTINATION Despite Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms' staunch disapproval, Carol Moseley-Braun has been confirmed for an ambassadorship, The bullish 78-year-old seems to... title: What's His Problem? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) # What's His Problem? by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Nov 22, 1999 5:00 AM CUT by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Nov 22, 1999 5:00 AM CUT NOMINATION PROCRASTINATION Despite Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms’ staunch disapproval, Carol Moseley-Braun has been confirmed for an ambassadorship, The bullish 78-year-old seems to have a problem with almost every nominee. NOMINEE CAROL MOSELEY-BRAUN AMBASSADORSHIP New Zealand HELMS’ PROBLEM Moseley-Braun helped defeat Helms’ plan to renew a design patent on an insignia that featured the Confederate flag HOW LONG HE HELD THE PROCESS UP More than a month, then she won \[NOMINEE\] JAMES HORMEL \[AMBASSADORSHIP\] Luxembourg \[HELMS’ PROBLEM\] Hormel is gay \[HOW LONG HE HELD THE PROCESS UP\] 21 months, then the Prez appointed Hormel during a Senate recess \[NOMINEE\] J. BRIAN ATWOOD \[AMBASSADORSHIP\] Brazil \[HELMS’ PROBLEM\] He accused Helms of “a negative abuse of power” that hindered U.S. foreign policy \[HOW LONG HE HELD THE PROCESS UP\] Two months, then Atwood withdrew his nomination \[NOMINEE\] WILLIAM WELD \[AMBASSADORSHIP\] Mexico \[HELMS’ PROBLEM\] Weld’s criticism of Helms; Weld’s wife once donated $200 to a Helms opponent \[HOW LONG HE HELD THE PROCESS UP\] Five months, then Clinton withdrew the nomination What's His Problem? ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6737057/whats-his-problem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/6737057/whats-his-problem/"},"headline":"What's His Problem?","datePublished":"1999-11-22T05:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-28T11:08:44.533Z","description":"NOMINATION PROCRASTINATION Despite Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jesse Helms' staunch disapproval, Carol Moseley-Braun has been confirmed for an ambassadorship, The bullish 78-year-old seems to...","url":"https://time.com/archive/6737057/whats-his-problem/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/6737057/whats-his-problem/","name":"What's His Problem?"}}]}] ```