US Senate to hold hearings on Biden nominees, including antisemitism envoy

By Jacob Magid

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2 March 2022, 9:55 pm

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Deborah Lipstadt, US President Joe Biden's nominee to be antisemitism monitor, testifies in the Dirksen Office building near the US Capitol, on February 8, 2022. (Ron Kampeas/JTA)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has scheduled a hearing to vote on confirming US President Joe Biden’s nominee for special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, for next Tuesday March 8.

Lipstadt’s appointment has been held up for months by Senate Republicans who have spoken out about past remarks Lipstadt has made criticizing members of the GOP.

Lipstadt still has enough votes to make it out of committee, after which her nomination will come before the entire Senate for a vote. There too, she is expected to have enough votes to be overwhelmingly confirmed.

Deborah Lipstadt, nominated to be special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, with the rank of ambassador, speaks during her Senate Foreign Relations nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will also vote to advance the nomination of Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, Barbara Leaf, which has also been held up by GOP senators for months.