Washington, July 16 (AP) President Joe Biden is nominating former New Mexico Sen. Tom Udal to serve as his ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
Udall, a Democrat, retired in 2021 after two terms in the Senate representing New Mexico. He spent five terms in the House and served as the Attorney General of New Mexico. He comes from a family known for public service: his father, Stewart Udall, served as Secretary of the Interior, his uncle Mo Udall was a Congressman from Colorado and his cousin Mark Udall was a senator from Colorado.
“After dedicating my life to public service and serving as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee focusing on policies that promote democracy, international development and protection, I am honored to be a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in this honor of serving our great country. Honored to be nominated by President Biden for the next role,” Udall said in a statement.
Biden is also expected to nominate Democratic fundraiser Jane Hartley to serve as his ambassador to the United Kingdom, according to a person familiar with the decision, who was not authorized to comment publicly.
It was not immediately clear when the White House would formally announce the appointment of Hartley, who served as ambassador to France and Monaco during the Obama administration. She was a key fundraiser for Biden’s 2020 run for the White House.
The White House declined to comment about Hartley’s pending nomination, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
Hartley served as chief executive of the economic and political consulting firm Observatory Group, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and director of congressional relations in the Carter administration. She is married to Ralph Schlostein, the chief executive officer of investment bank Evercore.
UK ambassadorship is one of the most high-profile diplomatic postings and often comes with the expectation that the nominee may bill for entertainment on behalf of the United States.
Former President Donald Trump turns to New York Jets owner Robert “Woody” Johnson for his London posting. Barack Obama turned to businessman Matthew Barzun and lawyer Louis Sussman during his time in office. Robert Tuttle of California, who made his money in the car dealership business, took office under George W. Bush.
Biden is also considering nominating Democratic fundraiser George Tsunis, founder and CEO of Chartwell Hotels, to serve as ambassador to Greece, according to a person familiar with the White House deliberations.
Tsunis was nominated by Obama to serve as ambassador to Norway in 2013, but dropped the idea after a difficult Senate confirmation hearing. Sunis admitted during the hearing that he had not visited Norway and had mistakenly referred to the country’s head of government as “president” rather than “prime minister”. (AP) _ Rupee Rupee R
(This story has been published as part of an auto-generated Syndicate wire feed. Headline or body have not been edited by ABP Live.)
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