Senate CONFIRMS Biden’s new ambassador to Russia hours before Zelensky is set to address Congress
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Senate overwhelmingly CONFIRMS Biden’s new ambassador to Russia hours before Ukrainian President Zelensky addresses Congress
- Career diplomat Lynne Tracy was confirmed in a decisive 92-2 vote over Weds
- Replaces former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan
- Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tracy’s confirmation sends a message that Americans “unequivocally” support Ukraine.
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An overwhelming majority of the Senate voted Wednesday to confirm President Joe Biden’s new ambassador to Russia.
Hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington for a historic visit, Republican and Democratic senators voted 93-2 to confirm veteran diplomat Lynne M. Tracy as the new ambassador to Russia.
Some saw it as a sign of America’s commitment to war torn Ukraine facing the invasion of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During remarks ahead of their bilateral meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Zelensky surprised Biden with a Ukrainian military award.
The US president called the honor “undeserved but appreciated.”
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the House session by saying Wednesday’s approval of a new $45 billion military aid package for Ukraine and the confirmation of the new US ambassador.
Later, around 7:30 pm ET, Schumer will be with his fellow lawmakers listening to Zelensky address a joint session of Congress.
Career diplomat Lynne Tracy will step down from her role as US ambassador to Armenia to become the country’s top diplomat in Moscow after being confirmed in a landslide vote in the Senate on Wednesday.
He is expected to thank Congress for its approval of billions of dollars in aid, which came over the objections of a small but vocal group of conservative Republican lawmakers.
Tracy, a career member of the Foreign Service who previously served as ambassador to Armenia, “will be tasked with taking on Putin,” Schumer said.
The only two votes against Tracy came from Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who have been skeptical of the administration’s support for Ukraine.
Tracy will oversee an embassy in Moscow that has been decimated in terms of personnel as US-Russian ties have collapsed over the war in Ukraine along with several longstanding and unrelated diplomatic disputes over personnel and facilities and aggravated by disagreements over gun control.
Tracy, who speaks Russian, previously served as a senior adviser for Russian affairs in the State Department’s Office of European and Eurasian Affairs, as deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Moscow.
He arrived on the same day as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the United States.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tracy’s confirmation sends a message that Americans “unequivocally” support Ukraine against Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
He also held various posts in Central and South Asia.
The former US ambassador to Moscow, John Sullivan, left Russia in early September in a departure that was expected but hastened by the deteriorating health of his wife, who died a day after their return to the United States. .
Tracy is well regarded in diplomatic circles and received a State Department Hero Award from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2009.
While running the US consulate in Peshawar, in Pakistan’s insurgency-ravaged border regions, Tracy survived an attack on her by a gunman who left her vehicle riddled with bullets, but insisted on going to work. that day and remain in post, even when security concerns forced her to. the consulate to cut her staff.
Tracy also received the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award for her work as an embassy deputy in Moscow.