Senate Nears Breakthrough on Obama's Stalled Pick for Mexican Ambassador Seung Min Kim - Politico
go to original April 22, 2016

Diplomat Roberta Jacobson's nomination has drawn fire in particular because of her role at the State Department in easing the Obama administration’s relations with Cuba. (AP)

The US Senate is on the cusp of a breakthrough that would allow the confirmation of Roberta Jacobson, President Barack Obama’s long-stalled nominee to become ambassador to Mexico, according to multiple sources.

The chief obstacle for Jacobson, a high-ranking State Department official who was chosen by Obama last June, has been Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) — who for months has blocked swift consideration of her confirmation because of her work to normalize relations with Cuba and other foreign-policy concerns.

But key GOP senators who support Jacobson, including Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, the powerful second-ranking Republican, have been quietly working with Rubio. In return for lifting his objections, Rubio aims to secure provisions related to Venezuela policy, according to the sources.

“We’ve been in discussions with the White House to see what can be done,” a Rubio aide said Thursday. Rubio has also been a tough critic of the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

Jacobson cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in November on a 12-7 vote, but her nomination has languished since then. That’s despite support from a cadre of GOP backers such as border-state Republicans Cornyn and Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has repeatedly called for installing an ambassador to Mexico, which is the United States’ third-largest trading partner.

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