The Senate confirmed Laura Holgate Thursday to be U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Vienna Office of the United Nations.
President Barack Obama nominated Holgate in August, at which time National Security Advisor Susan Rice said Holgate has played a key role in strengthening the global nuclear security architecture.
“Laura has spent her career building and leading global coalitions to prevent states and terrorists from acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction,” Rice said.
Holgate has served since 2009 as special assistant to the President and senior director for weapons of mass destruction terrorism and threat reduction on the National Security Council.
Her nomination was blocked for months due to political disagreements about the Iran deal.
The American Nuclear Society and the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management had urged the Senate to proceed with the confirmation.
“We are deeply concerned that the continuing absence of a US ambassador to the IAEA is eroding our nation’s ability to influence international nuclear nonproliferation efforts at a critical time,” the group wrote in an April 13 letter to Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
The Senate confirmed Holgate’s nomination as U.S. representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations by voice vote, and as U.S. Ambassador to the IAEA in a 67-29 vote. Senators who voted against the nomination include Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). No Democrats voted against the nomination.
