Senate approves ambassador to Indonesia

The Senate unanimously approved President Obama’s choice to be ambassador to Indonesia late Tuesday despite a threat by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to hold up nominees over the Benghazi attack.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee cleared Robert Blake along with 23 other State Department nominees on Thursday. Graham, who wants to have access to Americans who were on the ground during the attack on the U.S. mission on Sept. 11, 2012, said last week that his hold threat would not apply to nominations already in the pipeline.

Blake, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, is currently the assistant secretary of State for South Asian affairs. He previously served as ambassador to Sri Lanka and deputy chief of mission in New Delhi, India.

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