The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has unanimously approved President Joe Biden's nominee to be the next ambassador to Ukraine.
The nomination of veteran diplomat Bridget Brink is expected to easily win a vote in the full Senate, which in 2019 unanimously confirmed her to her current post as U.S. ambassador to Slovakia.
Biden nominated Brink late last month, and the committee held her confirmation hearing less than two weeks later. The quick action underscored lawmakers’ desire to fill a crucial position that has been vacant for three years.
Congress also sees it as a show of support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy along with nearly $40 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Kyiv that is expected to pass later this week.
Brink, who speaks Russian, has been a career diplomat for 25 years and has worked in Uzbekistan and Georgia as well as in several senior positions across the State Department and the White House National Security Council.