Senate confirms nominees for State posts and ambassadorships
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate confirmed on Friday six of President Barack Obama's nominees for ambassadorships and senior positions at the State Department after GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas ended his opposition.
Cruz placed a blanket hold last year on all nominees for State Department positions requiring Senate confirmation, due in part to his opposition to the landmark nuclear deal Obama and other nations brokered with Iran.
Phil Novack, a Cruz spokesman, said Friday that the senator removed his hold on State Department nominees after the Senate passed by voice vote legislation authored by Cruz to rename the plaza in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington as "Liu Xiaobo Plaza."