Ken Salazar has been confirmed as the new US ambassador to Mexico
Cruz had held up Biden’s appointments because he opposes waiving sanctions for Nord Stream 2, a gas pipeline being built from Russia to Germany that the United States and Eastern European countries fear would embolden Moscow and weaken Ukraine. The Biden administration shares concerns, but argues that the pipeline was near completion when he took office. Instead, it reached an agreement with Germany that included increased support for Ukraine.
Speaking to the press on August 2, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said more than 65 candidates were waiting to be confirmed for “critical national security positions.” “It includes overseeing security at our embassies and facilities around the world and helping eliminate delays in applying for passports due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Blinken said. “The American people need these services.”
Because of the nomination and confirmation process, the United States often has vacancies at the start of administrations, but the current delay — about seven months after Biden took office — is unusually long.
Finally, the Senate confirmed Biden’s appointments to the government, including the appointment of the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield.
Who is the new US ambassador to Mexico?
Salazar was elected senator from Colorado in 2004, but resigned to take up the post of Secretary of the Interior with Barack Obama. When he left this position in 2013, he joined the international law firm WilmerHale, where he still practices. During Biden’s campaign, he served as co-chair of the Latin Leadership Committee.
Now he will take on an often rocky relationship with Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has forged an unlikely alliance with Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump, a vocal critic of immigration.
At his hearing, Salazar said he would work with Mexico to “secure” a “common border and establish an orderly, safe and humane framework for immigration,” a major political issue in the United States.
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