On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, Teresa and I want to express our deep sorrow and shock at the death of Cassandra Butts, a friend and dedicated public servant who had been nominated by President Obama to serve as our next Ambassador to the Bahamas. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cassandra’s family and friends as we share in their sadness and look back on Cassandra’s many accomplishments in support of our country and its values and ideals. Through the years, Cassandra was a potent presence and major contributor in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and with the NAACP, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Center for American Progress. Cassandra Butts was a brilliant lawyer and a person of superb judgement and great personal humor and warmth. We are all diminished by her passing at far too young an age.