US President Joe Biden is nominating former New Mexico Senator Tom Udall to serve as his ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
Udall, a Democrat, retired in 2021 after two terms in the Senate representing New Mexico. He spent five terms in the House and served as New Mexico’s Attorney-General.
He comes from a family well known for public service: his father Stewart Udall served as interior secretary, his uncle Mo Udall was a congressman from Colorado and his cousin Mark Udall was a senator from Colorado.
“Having dedicated my life to public service and having served as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee focusing on policies that promote democracy, international development, and conservation, I am honoured to be nominated by President Biden to this next role serving our great country,” Udall said in a statement.
Udall is the third former Senate colleague that Biden has tapped for an ambassadorial position.
He’s also nominated Ken Salazar, a Democrat who represented Colorado and served as Interior secretary in the Obama administration, to serve as ambassador to Mexico, and Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who endorsed Biden’s 2020 run, to serve as ambassador to Turkey.
