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WASHINGTON (AP) – The Senate on Tuesday confirmed two prominent anti-Trump Republicans to serve in the Biden administration, with former Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona as ambassador to Turkey and Cindy McCain, wife of the late Senate John. , McCain was approved as Ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Agencies of the United Nations.
The Senate also voted to confirm former Democratic Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico as ambassador to New Zealand and Victoria Reggie Kennedy of Massachusetts, widow of former Sen. Ted Kennedy, as ambassador to Austria.
The nominations were approved by voting, a process that took only minutes that can be used as long as no senators object. The Republicans, led by Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are demanding a much more extensive and time-consuming process from the vast majority of Biden’s other State Department candidates.
Senator Chris Coons, D-Del., Thanked the Senators for acting quickly on the four nominations, but said he remained concerned about the overall pace of affirmations for the president’s diplomatic corps.
“There are dozen of countries that do not have a confirmed American ambassador, and I hope this moment of progress will be an indication of other advances that are coming soon,” Coons said.
Flake was a rare critic of former President Donald Trump among Republicans in the Senate. He only served one term in the Senate and decided not to be re-elected in the face of what is undoubtedly a difficult GOP primary.
McCain supported Biden in the presidential election, which was seen as potentially helpful at the time, to help Biden expand his appeal to Republicans and Independents in Arizona, a pivotal swing state her husband had represented in Congress for 35 years.
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