Biden names 9 ambassador nominees, including ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, but posts in Europe and Asia are still to come

By Jeff Zeleny, Chief National Affairs Correspondent

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his nominees to serve as ambassadors to Israel, Mexico, NATO and several other posts, including Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III to represent the United States on an international civil aviation safety board.

On the eve of his summit in Geneva with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House disclosed the names of nine ambassadorial nominees, leaving many of the most high-profile posts around the world still unfilled.

Tom Nides, a former deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and a longtime executive at Morgan Stanley, will be nominated as ambassador to Israel.

Former Sen. Ken Salazar from Colorado, who served as Interior secretary in the Obama administration, will be nominated as the top US diplomat to Mexico.

Julianne Smith, a former deputy national security adviser to Biden when he served as vice president, will be nominated as ambassador to NATO.

The White House released the names of the nine ambassador nominees in a statement on Tuesday from Washington. The list included career foreign service officers to be nominated as ambassadors to Paraguay, Costa Rica and Guinea, Sri Lanka and Gambia.

Not included on the roster released on Tuesday are high-profile posts across Europe, Asia and beyond. The White House is still completing the vetting process on several people whom Biden has decided on, officials said, but the process is not yet complete.

Sullenberger was a prominent supporter of Biden and last year blasted former President Donald Trump as “completely unfit” for office. He will be nominated to represent the US on the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Nides is married to CNN executive Virginia Moseley, who is senior vice president of domestic newsgathering.

All nominees are subject to confirmation hearings in the closely divided Senate, which means none of the ambassadors are likely to be in their posts before late summer or early fall.

The other nominees are: Julie Chung, for ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka; Sharon L. Cromer, for US ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia; Troy Damian Fitrell, for ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Guinea; Marc Ostfield, for ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Paraguay; Dr. Cynthia Ann Telles, for ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Costa Rica.