Senate confirms big slate of Biden ambassadors to end 2021

By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed more than 30 ambassadors and other Biden administration nominees after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to schedule a vote on sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that will deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany. With many senators anxious to go home for the holidays, Schumer had threatened to keep the Senate in votes for as long as it took to break a logjam on a broad array of diplomatic and national security nominees. The Biden administration says the slowdown of ambassadorial picks has already had a negative impact on U.S. relations overseas. Among those confirmed early Saturday was former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan.