Amy Gutmann confirmed next US ambassador to Germany

International

-DW News

Berlin,
Feb
09:
The
United
States
Senate
on
Tuesday
confirmed
Amy
Gutmann,
President
Joe
Biden’s
nominee
for
ambassador
to
Germany,
close
to
six
months
after
her
nomination.

Voting
largely
along
party
lines,
54
senators
voted
in
favor
of
the
nomination
and
42
against.
Four
senators
did
not
vote.

Almost
every
Republican
voted
against
Gutmann,
who
has
served
as
the
president
of
the
University
of
Pennsylvania
since
2004.

The
72-year-old
with
German-Jewish
roots
still
has
to
be
sworn
in
before
taking
office.
She
will
be
the
first
woman
to
hold
the
US
ambassador’s
post
in
Berlin.

The
high-profile
representation
had
been
led
by
chargés
d’affaires
since
former
President
Donald
Trump’s
nominee
Richard
Grenell
resigned
two
years
after
he
took
over
the
post
in
May
2018.

Republicans
oppose
nomination

Biden
had
nominated
Gutmann
for
an
ambassadorship
in
Berlin
last
summer,
but
the
confirmation
petered
out
due
to
a
blockade
by
the
Republicans
in
the
Senate.

Some
Republicans
voiced
objections
to
her
nomination
because
the
University
of
Pennsylvania
had
appointed
Biden
to
a
professorship
after
he
completed
eight
years
as
US
vice
president.

The
White
House
argued
that,
as
an
expert
in
political
philosophy,
Gutmann
was
eminently
qualified.

Others
raised
concerns
over
donations
to
the
university
from
China.
Gutmann
refuted
that
by
maintaining
that
less
than
1%
of
the
school’s
donations
came
from
donors
in
China,
adding
that
the
school
accepts
no
funds
that
may
compromise
its
values.

Tensions
in
Europe

Gutmann’s
confirmation
comes
at
a
time
when
the
US
and
Germany
are
dealing
with
the
threat
of
a
Russian
invasion
of
Ukraine.

Earlier
this
week,
several
senators,
including
some
Republicans
who
voted
against
Gutmann”s
nomination,
attended
a
dinner
with
Olaf
Scholz,
Germany’s
new
chancellor.

During
Scholz’s
visit
to
Washington,
he
and
Biden
stressed
the
importance
of
averting
war
in
Europe.

Source: DW