The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Richard Grenell as the next ambassador to Germany, a position that had been vacant since January 2017. The…
The Senate on Thursday voted to confirm Richard Grenell as the next ambassador to Germany, a position that had been vacant since January 2017.
The 56-42 vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee for the ambassadorship to Germany came a day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to meet with Trump at the White House, where she is expected to push the president not to abandon the Iran nuclear deal, HuffPost reported .
Trump nominated Grenell back in September, but Senate Democrats successfully blocked his nomination for months, with some opposing confirmation because of past tweets from Grenell that they characterize as disparaging to women. On Thursday, however, six Democrats from states that Trump won in 2016, most of whom face uphill reelection battles this year, voted for Grenell: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N. D.), Doug Jones (Ala.), Joe Manchin (W. Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), and Jon Tester (Mont.).
The Senate vote to confirm Grenell came shortly after the chamber voted to confirm Mike Pompeo as Trump’s secretary of state, the Washington Free Beacon reported .
