Biden to nominate Rahm Emanuel for ambassador to Japan

President Biden will nominate former White House chief of staff and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) to serve as his ambassador to Japan, the White House said Friday.

The Hill had previously reported Emanuel was the expected pick for Biden’s envoy to Japan, but the announcement had been held up while other ambassadorships were announced and sent to the Senate for confirmation.

Emanuel also served as a member of the House, where he led Democrats to the majority in 2006 for the first time in roughly a decade.

Emanuel, once thought to be a future Speaker himself, ended up taking the role as then-President Obama’s chief of staff at the White House before jumping into the Chicago mayor’s race and winning after longtime Mayor Richard Daley (D) announced he would not run again.

But his time as Chicago mayor, and particularly his handling of the 2014 police shooting of Black teenager Laquan McDonald, has made him toxic among progressive Democrats, some of whom already were at odds with him over other past positions. He further alienated progressives early in the Biden administration with his calls for a more moderate agenda and compromise with Republicans.

His connections on the Hill could benefit him in a potentially tense nomination proceeding, and moderate Democrats lined up on Friday to voice support for the pick.

“In the House and, indeed, across the nation, Rahm Emanuel is known and respected by all for his relentlessness and track record of success,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “His great experience, from the U.S. House to the White House, will serve our nation well, as he works to deepen one of our nation’s most important alliances, champion American interests abroad and advance regional security and prosperity.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the Senate majority whip, vowed to do “all I can to help Rahm become America’s voice in Japan.”

“I support President Biden’s nomination of my former colleague Rahm Emanuel to be Ambassador to Japan,” tweeted House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close Biden ally. “I worked closely with him in Congress and when he served as Chief of Staff to President Obama. He has the experience necessary to advance our country’s strategic objectives.”

The White House, in announcing his nomination, highlighted Emanuel’s economic accomplishments as mayor of Chicago, as well as his climate commitments on the job. The administration also pointed to his work in the Obama administration helping to pass the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank.

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who served as ambassador to Japan during the Trump administration and has been a sharp critic of the Biden administration, congratulated Emanuel on the nomination and outlined the significance of the position.

“Given the ongoing failures witnessed in Afghanistan, it will be incumbent upon Mayor Emanuel to demonstrate strongly his ability to represent America’s vital interests in the region, and to protect the thousands of our citizens that are in Japan on any given day under the U.S. Ambassador’s Chief of Mission authority just as I did,” Hagerty said in a statement. “The Japanese people have an incredible spirit and a deep love for the United States, and I have no doubt that they look forward to welcoming the next U.S. Ambassador.”

—Updated at 5:16 p.m.