Senate confirms Thomas Nides as US ambassador to Israel

The Senate confirmed Thomas Nides to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel in a voice vote on Wednesday.

Nides, who was among a list of ambassador nominations that the White House announced in June, had been a former deputy secretary of State under the Obama administration, receiving the department’s Distinguished Service Award. He is currently a managing director and vice chairman at Morgan Stanley.

“Amb Nides, I wish you much success in your role & a fruitful tenure at the US Embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem. I’m sure that you will further strengthen the special bond between Israel & the US,” Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, said in a tweet on Wednesday.

Congrats to Tom Nides on his confirmation to be US Amb to Israel. Amb Nides, I wish you much success in your role & a fruitful tenure at the US Embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem. I’m sure that you will further strengthen the special bond between Israel & the US. https://t.co/7XNxDtmgSc

— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) November 4, 2021

Nides was among a handful of ambassador nominations to be confirmed this week and last. Former Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) was confirmed to be ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, and former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) was confirmed to be the ambassador to Turkey. 

Activist Victoria Reggie Kennedy was confirmed to be the envoy to Austria and Ken Salazar has been confirmed to the U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Confirmations of several of President Biden’s picks have been mired in holdouts within the Senate, particularly by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over the issue of sanctions against the Russian Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

“I’ve made clear to every State Department official, to every state department nominee, that I will place holds on these nominees unless and until the Biden administration follows the law and stops this pipeline and imposes the sanctions,” Cruz said in August during remarks on the floor.

Criticizing the Biden administration for how the Afghanistan evacuation was handled, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Miss.) has also suggested he would be another Senate holdout on nominations within the Defense and State departments.