Senate confirms Cindy McCain as Biden’s ambassador to UN food agency

By Devan Cole, CNN

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Cindy McCain as the US ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, securing a longtime Republican ally of President Joe Biden for a spot in his administration.

McCain — the widow of GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose relationship with Biden has spanned decades — was confirmed nearly four months after the President nominated her to the position, which focuses on ending global hunger and expanding access to quality foods worldwide.

The request to confirm McCain was made on the Senate floor by Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, while Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, another Arizona Democrat, was the presiding officer at the time of the vote.

Following her confirmation, McCain shared a tweet from a Senate Twitter account announcing that her nomination had passed, adding simply: “It’s official!!“

While McCain’s spot in the administration reflects Biden’s desire to govern in a more bipartisan Washington, it also pushes the noted Republican further into the embrace of the Democratic Party, which she has occasionally sided with in recent years after former President Donald Trump made an enemy of her late husband, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee.

Cindy McCain endorsed Biden during the 2020 presidential race and was later featured in campaign ads describing him as a leader who can cross party lines and unite the country. In a tweet last year, she described him as the “one candidate in this race who stands up for our values as a nation.”

She is a member of the Human Trafficking Council at the McCain Institute for International Leadership at Arizona State University and serves as chair and director of the Hensley Beverage Company.

McCain wasn’t the only Republican confirmed to a post in the Biden administration on Tuesday. The Senate also confirmed former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican who was known for occasionally pushing back against Trump, as US ambassador to Turkey.

Senators confirmed Victoria Reggie Kennedy, the widow of Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, as US ambassador to Austria, and former Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico as US ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa.

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CNN’s Ted Barrett, Paul LeBlanc and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.