Washington (AP) — President Joe Biden has appointed Victoria Reggie Kennedy, a lawyer and the widow of Senator Ted Kennedy, as the ambassador of Austria. The White House said Wednesday that it has nominated David Cohen, the executive of Comcast, the top political fundraiser, to serve as ambassador to Canada.
Gun control advocate Kennedy came to know the president during the years Biden served with her husband in the Senate.
She is the chairman and co-founder of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute of the US Senate, a non-partisan non-profit organization that educates the general public about the US Senate, and also heads the Board of Education. .. Kennedy Center in Washington.
Kennedy also served on the board of gun control advocacy groups, the Brady Center to prevent gun violence in Washington, DC, and the suspension of gun violence in Boston. She founded Common Sense, a group on children and guns, with the goal of reducing children’s gun casualties.
“My parents and grandparents have taught us how important it is to serve and give back through examples of their lives,” Kennedy said in a statement. “And my late husband and his extended family embodied the qualities of the highest service to the country. I am humble that the President gave me confidence, and if confirmed, Austria I look forward to serving my country as an ambassador to. “
Biden is also seriously considering another member of the Kennedy family.
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, who was the ambassador to Japan during the Obama administration, is probably being considered as a candidate to play the role of a high-profile ambassador in Asia and Australia. In deliberations not allowed to comment.
Cohen is a senior executive at cable company Comcast and was previously Chief of Staff of another powerful Biden ally, Ed Rendell. Rendell was the mayor of Philadelphia. He was an early supporter of the president’s third White House run and hosted Biden’s first 2020 presidential election fundraiser.
Cohen said in a statement that, if confirmed, the two countries are aiming to expand their “significant relationship” as they seek to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. Canada announced this week that it will ease border restrictions next month, allowing fully vaccinated US citizens and permanent residents of the United States to enter without quarantine.
On Wednesday, the US government extended the closure of the Canadian-Mexico border to non-essential travelers until at least August 21st.
The White House also announced that Biden would nominate South Carolina lawyer and influential Democrat Jamie Harputrian as an ambassador to Slovenia early in the primary elections. She is married to another powerful South Carolina Democratic operative and Biden ally, Senator Dick Harpootlian.
The president’s victory in the South Carolina primary turned out to be a turning point in a campaign that struggled across the gates.