WASHINGTON — President Biden on Tuesday announced his long-awaited first slate of ambassadors, including his nominees for key posts to Mexico, Israel and NATO, as he made his first trip abroad since taking office. Mr. Biden also named Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot who executed a water landing off Midtown Manhattan after a dual engine failure brought his plane plummeting toward earth, as his nominee for ambassador to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Among the nine nominees announced were Ken Salazar, a former Colorado senator who served as the interior secretary during the Obama administration, as ambassador to Mexico; and Thomas R. Nides, a vice chairman at Morgan Stanley who served as a deputy secretary of state under President Barack Obama, as ambassador to Israel. The official announcements of the long-rumored nominations came as Mr. Biden traveled to Europe with the goal of demonstrating to global leaders that “America is back at the table.” Mr. Nides’s nomination also came just days after a new government took power in Israel, opening up the possibility of a less contentious relationship with the Biden administration.

Source: International New York Times June 15, 2021 22:18 UTC